Emerin expression stratification across breast cancer subtypes.

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Cell Biology
• Biochemistry

Background:

• Nuclear dysmorphism is a key indicator of tumor aggressiveness.
• Emerin, a nuclear envelope protein, maintains nuclear integrity and is linked to breast cancer aggressiveness.
• Previous studies suggested an inverse correlation between emerin and breast cancer aggressiveness but lacked detailed analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the correlation between emerin expression at the nuclear envelope and various breast cancer characteristics.
• To assess emerin's relationship with tumor stage, grade, proliferation, and molecular phenotype in a large patient cohort.

Main Methods:

• Quantitative analysis of emerin expression at the nuclear envelope.
• Examination of 243 breast cancer patient samples with diverse tumor grades, stages, and molecular phenotypes.
• Correlation analysis between emerin levels and clinical-pathological features, including Ki-67, HER2, ER, and PR status.

Main Results:

• Significantly reduced emerin expression was observed in invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC), invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC), and ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) compared to normal breast tissue.
• Emerin loss correlated with advanced tumor stage, higher Ki-67 proliferation rates, elevated HER2, and decreased ER/PR expression.
• Consistently reduced emerin expression was found in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and other receptor-negative subtypes.

Conclusions:

• Emerin expression is significantly reduced in various breast cancer subtypes, including invasive and in situ carcinomas.
• Loss of emerin is associated with aggressive breast cancer phenotypes, including advanced stage, high proliferation, and specific receptor statuses.
• Emerin deficiency may play a role in breast cancer dedifferentiation and progression, highlighting its potential as a biomarker.