HER-2 expression correlates with survivin in primary invasive ductal breast cancers

The expression of HER-2 and Survivin is correlated with poor prognosis of breast cancer, but a possible interaction of these two proteins remains to be established.

The aim of this study is to determine the possible relationship between HER-2 and Survivin in primary invasive ductal breast cancer.

Eighty-six patients diagnosed with primary invasive ductal breast cancer were enrolled in the study. Cancerous breast tissue biopsies were analyzed for the expression levels of HER-2, survivin, ERK1/2, p-ERK1/2, AKT, and p-AKT proteins by Western blot. The levels of HER-2 and survivin mRNA were also assessed by real-time quantitative reverse transcription--polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Finally, the correlation of disease state and protein or mRNA expression was analyzed using the bivariate Pearson's correlation method (two-tailed).

Western blot analysis showed a significant correlation in protein levels among HER-2, p-AKT, and survivin in the primary invasive ductal breast cancer tissues (all p<0.01). However, the levels of HER-2 protein and Survivin mRNA were not correlated (p=0.154).

HER-2 expression significantly correlates with Survivin at the protein level in primary invasive ductal breast cancer tissues, and the correlated changes might act via p-AKT, rather than at the level of transcriptional regulation.