It has been suggested that the cAMP responsive element-binding protein (CREB) may act as a transcription regulator of aromatase in breast cancer cells. However, there is little knowledge on the expression of CREB1 in human breast cancer and its clinical significance. The current study investigated the expression pattern of CREB1 in human breast cancer at the mRNA and protein level and correlated it with the clinical outcome. CREB1 staining was primarily seen in the nucleus of both normal and tumour cells. At the mRNA level, we found a significantly higher level of CREB1 in breast tumour tissues (n=120) as compared to non-neoplastic mammary tissues (n=33, p=0.0092). When compared between different histological types CREB1 expression was significantly higher in ductal carcinoma as compared to lobular and other breast carcinoma. Patients with a poor prognosis and with metastasis had a markedly raised level of CREB1 compared to patients who were disease free. In addition, node-positive tumours had higher levels of CREB1 than node-negative tumours (p=0.0018). Finally, patients with high levels of CREB1 had a significantly shorter disease-free survival [95.3 (68.4-122.3, 95% CI) months] compared with those with lower levels [133.9 (123.5-144.2) months, p=0.0193]. This study demonstrates that the level of CREB1 in breast cancer patients is elevated and is significantly raised in patients with a poor prognosis, metastatic disease and nodal involvement. We conclude that the level of CREB1 expression is aberrant in human breast cancer and is associated with disease progression in breast cancer patients.

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To our knowledge this is the first report of the expression pattern of WAVE1 in prostate cancer cell lines and tissues, and the functional impact of WAVE1 knockdown. Further investigations to assess WAVE1 as a potential target for anti-metastasis therapy must be explored.

Background: The WASP family proteins have been indicated to play a vital role in the formation of membrane protrusions required for cell locomotion. WAVE proteins are an important subfamily that also plays a crucial role in actin polymerisation, which is vital to cell migration. However, not much is known about the clinical significance of this subfamily in cancers. We report, for the first time, the expression of the WAVE molecules, at protein and mRNA levels, in human breast cancer. Materials and Methods: The expression of the 3 WAVE molecules at the mRNA and protein levels in a cohort of 122 human breast cancers and 32 normal breast tissues were analysed and correlated with the patients’ pathological and clinical information as well as outcome (120 months follow-up). Results: All 3 WAVE molecules were detected in mammary tissues. WAVE2 transcripts were expressed in high levels in all breast tumours. Over-expression of WAVE2 was seen in node-positive cases as well as in moderately and poorly differentiated tumours. Also, high levels of WAVE2 expression were associated with death due to disease (p = 0.02) at follow-up. No distinct associations were found between the WAVE1 and WAVE3 transcripts and the breast cancer cells.