Expression of PGRMC1 in paraffin-embedded tissues of breast cancer

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can increase the risk of breast cancer, shown especially in the only double-blind placebo-controlled study, the Women's Health Initiative (WHI). Recent published researches are suggesting that progesterone receptor membrane component 1 (PGRMC1) expression may explain this result. This study aimed at investigating whether paraffin-embedded tissue could be used in PGRMC1-related trials. Samples from 109 breast cancer patients from years 2008 to 2014 were evaluated for the expression of estrogen receptor alpha (ERα), progestrone receptor (PR), Ki67 and PGRMC1 by immunohistochemistry (IHC). Our data indicate that the expression of PGRMC1 is stable in paraffin-embedded tissue stored for different years. The IHC score of Erα (X ² = 4.40, P = 0.11), PR (X ² = 2.89, P = 0.24) and Ki67 (X ² = 0.25, P = 0.88) also had no significant different in the paraffin-embedded tissue from different years. Our data suggest that paraffin embedded tissue can be used in PGRMC1-related trials.