KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The study aimed to investigate the relationship between VDR gene expression in tumoral and healthy breast tissues and breast cancer prognosis.
- VDR expression was higher in healthy tissue compared to tumoral tissue; no significant correlation with prognostic factors.
Breast cancer ranks as one of the most prevalent cancers among women.
Maryam Bahadour and the team aimed to examine the vitamin D receptor gene expression in both tumoral and healthy breast tissues of patients with breast cancer and its correlation with prognostic factors.
In 2022, a descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 50 patients suspected of breast cancer at a teaching hospital. These patients were scheduled for mastectomy or lumpectomy. Two tissue samples were collected from each patient, resulting in 100 samples.
The samples underwent H/E staining and were assessed by a pathologist. Two pathologists confirmed the presence of malignancy, and the HER2/ER/PR indices were determined. Descriptive and analytical statistical methods were employed, and data were analyzed using SPSS version 22 software.
Patients had an average age of 51.60 ± 11.22 years, with an average tumor size of 3.17 ± 1.28. Most tumors were grade 2 (48%). HER2, ER, and PR were positive in 24%, 64%, and 54% of cases.
The majority of cases were in stage 2A. The expression of the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene was higher in healthy tissue (2.08 ± 1.01) than in tumoral tissue (0.25 ± 1.38) (P = 0.001). However, VDR expression was not significantly associated with tumor grade, HER2, ER, PR, LVI, LN, disease stage, age, or tumor size in either tumoral or healthy tissue.
The study found that VDR expression was notably higher in healthy tissue compared to tumoral tissue. However, no significant correlations were observed between VDR expression and tumor grade, HER2, ER, PR, LVI, LN, disease stage, age, or tumor size.
No funding was provided.
Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38616231/
Bahador M, Saeedi Nejad M, Dabiri S, et al. (2024) “Investigating the level of vitamin D receptor gene expression in two tumoral and healthy breast tissues in breast cancer patients and its association with prognostic factors.” J Egypt Natl Canc Inst. 2024 Apr 15;36(1):12. doi: 10.1186/s43046-024-00215-5. PMID: 38616231.
