Prognostic significance of RACGAP1 mRNA expression in high-risk early breast cancer: a study in primary tumors of breast cancer patients participating in a randomized Hellenic Cooperative Oncology Group trial

• Published in: Cancer chemotherapy and pharmacology 2013-01, Vol.71 (1), p.245-255
• Main Authors: Pliarchopoulou, K., Kalogeras, K. T., Kronenwett, R., Wirtz, R. M., Eleftheraki, A. G., Batistatou, A., Bobos, M., Soupos, N., Polychronidou, G., Gogas, H., Samantas, E., Christodoulou, C., Makatsoris, T., Pavlidis, N., Pectasides, D., Fountzilas, G.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Antineoplastic agents; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols - administration & dosage; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols - pharmacology; Biological and medical sciences; Breast cancer; Breast Neoplasms - drug therapy; Breast Neoplasms - genetics; Breast Neoplasms - pathology; Cancer Research; Disease-Free Survival; Female; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; GTPase-Activating Proteins - genetics; Gynecology. Andrology. Obstetrics; Humans; Ki-67 Antigen - genetics; Mammary gland diseases; Medical sciences; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Multiple tumors. Solid tumors. Tumors in childhood (general aspects); Multivariate Analysis; Oncology; Original Article; Patient Selection; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Pharmacology/Toxicology; Prognosis; Proportional Hazards Models; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Regression Analysis; Retrospective Studies; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; RNA, Messenger - metabolism; Survival Rate; Tumors; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0344-5704; 1432-0843
• DOI: 10.1007/s00280-012-2002-z

Purpose RACGAP1 is a Rac GTPase-activating protein involved in cell growth regulation, cell transformation and metastasis. The aim of the present study was to explore the prognostic and/or predictive significance of RACGAP1 mRNA expression on disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) in high-risk early breast cancer patients and compare it to that of Ki67 protein expression and to the Nottingham prognostic index (NPI). Methods A total of 595 high-risk breast cancer patients were treated in a two-arm trial evaluating postoperative dose-dense sequential chemotherapy with epirubicin followed by CMF with or without paclitaxel. RNA was extracted from 314 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded primary tumor tissue samples followed by one-step quantitative RT-PCR for assessing RACGAP1 mRNA expression. Results High RACGAP1 mRNA expression (above the median) was associated with poor DFS (log-rank, p  = 0.002) and OS ( p