Expression of c-MET in Estrogen Receptor Positive and HER2 Negative Resected Breast Cancer Correlated with a Poor Prognosis

Abstract

Introduction: The mesenchymal-epithelial transition factor (c-MET) receptor is overexpressed in about 14–54% of invasive breast cancers, but its prognostic value in clinical practice is still unclear. Methods: In order to investigate the relationship between c-MET expression levels and prognosis, we retrospectively reviewed the clinical features and outcomes of 105 women with estrogen receptor positive HER2 negative (ER+/HER2-) resected breast cancer. We used the Kaplan Meier method to estimate Disease Free Survival (DFS) and Breast Cancer Specific Survival (BCSS) in the subgroups of patients with high (≥50%) and low (<50%) c-MET expression. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional regression models were performed to assess the prognostic impact of clinicopathological parameters for DFS an BCSS. Results: High c-MET values significantly correlated with tumor size, high Ki67 and low (<20%) progesterone receptor expression. At a median follow up of 60 months, patients with high c-MET tumor had significantly worse (p = 0.00026) and BCSS (p = 0.0013). Univariate analysis showed a significant association between large tumor size, elevated Ki67, c-MET values and increased risk of recurrence or death. The multivariate COX regression model showed that tumor size and high c-MET expression were independent predictors of DFS (p = 0.019 and p = 0.022). Moreover, large tumor size was associated with significantly higher risk of cancer related death at multivariate analysis (p = 0.017), while a trend towards a poorer survival was registered in the high c-MET levels cohort (p = 0.084). Conclusions: In our series, high c-MET expression correlated with poor survival outcomes. Further studies are warranted to validate the clinical relevance and applicability of c-MET as a prognostic factor in ER+/HER2- early BC.

Rare axillary cancer of unknown primary originating from the breast of a 64‑year‑old male patient: A case report and literature review

“…BC is common in women and innovative technologies for very accurate diagnosis and treatments were established (24)(25)(26) while male breast cancer is rare, and CUP of male breast origin is anecdotal. Moreover, there is no consensus in literature about a specific panel of IHC due to their rarity (27).…”

Liquid biopsy utilizing miRNA in patients with advanced breast cancer treated with cyclin‑dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitors

“…Aberrations in c-MET have been described among several potential mechanisms of resistance to CDK4/6is (60). Increased c-MET expression, frequently observed in HR + /HER2breast cancer (61,62), is associated with disease stage, progesterone receptor levels, Ki67 index and worse survival (63).…”

The Impact of the Coexpression of MET and ESR Genes on Prognosticators and Clinical Outcomes of Breast Cancer: An Analysis for the METABRIC Dataset

“…A meta-analysis of 6010 breast cancer cases indicated the association between MET overexpression and poor relapse-free survival in hormone receptor-positive disease [11]. Also, in patients with ER-positive/HER2-negative early breast cancer, high MET expression correlated with poor survival outcomes, suggesting its prognostic impact in patients with hormone-dependent tumors [20]. Previous data demonstrated that the overexpression of MET induced resistance to endocrine drug fulvestrant in breast cancer cell lines, an efect that was further associated with increased cancer cell migration and invasion [21].…”