Nerve growth factor receptor (NGFR): a potential marker for specific molecular subtypes of breast cancer

Nerve growth factor receptor (NGFR) is a transmembrane receptor for the neurotrophin family. It acts either as tumour suppressor or oncogene depending on cellular context. Its role in breast cancers remained conflicting, possibly due to the heterogeneity of breast cancer subtypes.

In this study, we have analysed NGFR expression in 602 cases of breast cancers by immunohistochemistry. Its expression was correlated with biomarker expression and different breast cancer subtypes.

NGFR expression was found to be positively correlated with basal markers, including Ki67, Cytokeratin (CK5/6), CK14, p63, c-kit and Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) , but negatively with hormonal receptors. Among different molecular subtypes, it was negatively associated with luminal A, but positively with luminal B, and basal-like breast cancer BLBC subtypes. When comparing NGFR with other basal markers in BLBC, though less sensitive, its specificity was comparable to or better than other basal markers. For luminal B cancers, NGFR showed a high specificity which was also comparable to or better than the defining markers (estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), Human epidermal growth receptor 2 (HER2) and Ki-67) for the subtype.

Overall, these findings suggested that NGFR expression could be indicative for the BLBCs or luminal B subtypes. It may represent a potential adjunct marker for these two subtypes.