Prognostic Worth of Nrf2/BACH1/HO-1 Protein Expression in the Development of Breast Cancer

• Published in: Medical principles and practice 2023-12, Vol.32 (6), p.369-378
• Main Authors: Barnes, Precious, Agbo, Elvis, Wang, Jianjie, Amoani, Benjamin, Kwaku Opoku, Yeboah, Okyere, Perditer, Saahene, Roland Osei
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antibodies; Apoptosis; Basic-Leucine Zipper Transcription Factors - genetics; Basic-Leucine Zipper Transcription Factors - metabolism; Breast cancer; Breast Neoplasms; Cell growth; Female; Heme Oxygenase-1 - metabolism; Humans; Medical prognosis; Metabolism; Metastasis; NF-E2-Related Factor 2 - metabolism; Original Paper; Pathology; Patients; Prognosis; Protein expression; Proteins; Statistical analysis
• ISSN: 1011-7571; 1423-0151
• DOI: 10.1159/000534534

Objectives: Nrf2/BACH1/HO-1 proteins have been implicated in the development and progression of tumors. However, their clinical relevance in breast cancer remains unclear and understudied. This study evaluated Nrf2/BACH1/HO-1 protein expression and its relationship with age, tumor grade, tumor stage, TNM, ER, PR, HER2, and histologic type. Methods: 114 female breast cancer and 30 noncancerous tissues were evaluated for Nrf2/BACH1/HO-1 protein expression using immunohistochemistry and Western blot. The relationships between the expression and clinicopathologic factors were assessed using the χ 2 test. Results: 74% of the cancerous samples had high Nrf2 protein expression, and 26% of them had low Nrf2 protein expression. Regarding the non-cancer samples, 43% had high Nrf2 protein expression and 57% had low Nrf2 protein expression (p < 0.002). 39% of the cancerous samples had high BACH1 protein expression, and 61% had low BACH1 protein expression. For the non-cancer samples, 80% had high BACH1 protein expression and 20% had low BACH1 protein expression (p < 0.031). 67% of the cancerous samples had high HO-1 protein expression, and 33% had low HO-1 protein expression. However, for the non-cancer samples, 17% of them had high HO-1 protein expression and 83% had low HO-1 protein expression (p < 0.001). The expression of Nrf2 and HO-1 significantly correlated with tumor grade, while BACH1 was significantly associated with tumor stage (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Nrf2, BACH1, and HO-1 could be explored as a biomarker for cancer stage, progression, and prognosis.