Affiliations: [a] Department of Pathology, Medical Faculty, Otto-von-Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany | [b] Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Otto von Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany | [c] Department of Pathology, Neuropathology, and Molecular Pathology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria | [d] Department of Pathology, Diagnostic and Research Center for Molecular BioMedicine, Institute of Pathology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria | [e] Department of Pathology, Dessau Medical Center, Dessau, Germany | [f] Department for Internal Medicine I, Dessau Medical Center, Dessau, Germany
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Norbert Nass, Department of Pathology, Medical Faculty, Otto-von-Guericke University, Leipziger Str. 44, D39120 Magdeburg, Germany. Tel.: +49 391 67 17863; E-mail: Norbert.nass@med.ovgu.de.
Note: [1] These authors contributed equally to the supervision of this project.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Neuronatin (NNAT) determined by immunohistochemistry is a negative prognostic biomarker for breast cancer, independent of the major clinicopathological markers. OBJECTIVE: Here, we investigated whether NNAT is also a predictive biomarker for pathological remission after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. METHODS: One hundred and four breast cancer patients, treated with systemic neoadjuvant chemotherapy were included in this retrospective study. NNAT was detected in formaldehyde fixed, paraffin embedded primary cancer tissue by immunohistochemistry and an immuno-reactive score (IRS) determined. Pathological remission was scored according to Sinn and by evaluation of cytopathic effects. NNAT-IRS was correlated with clinicopathological parameters as well as relapse free and overall survival and for pathological remission after neoadjuvant therapy. RESULTS: NNAT IRS was an independent prognostic marker for relapse free and overall survival and the time from diagnosis to the “tumor-free” state. NNAT IRS was associated with Luminal-A tumors and correlated slightly negative with age and lymph-node metastasis. There was no significant correlation of NNAT-IRS with Sinn’s remission score, but with cytopathic effects of chemotherapy. CONCLUSIONS: We confirmed the prognostic impact of NNAT-IRS in an independent cohort of neoadjuvantly treated patients. Additionally, a correlation with a score for pathological remission under systemic neoadjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer was found.
Keywords: Breast cancer, neoadjuvant chemotherapy, neuronatin, remission score
