Abstract:

Objective To investigate the expression and clinical significance of CD147 in molecular subtypes of invasive breast cancer. Methods Clinical pathological data of 251 patients with invasive breast cancer were collected and immunohistochemical examination was performed for all molecular subtypes. Results The positive expression rates of CD147 in invasive breast cancer, luminal A subtype, luminal B subtype, human epidermal receptor 2 (HER2) positive subtype, and triple-negative (TNBC) subtype were 64.10% (161/251), 29.30% (12/41), 50.00% (35/70), 75.00% (42/56), and 85.70% (72/84), respectively. Comparison between subtypes showed that the difference between HER2 positive subtype and TNBC subtype was not statistically significant (P=0.11) and differences between other subtypes were statistically significant (P=0.001). High positive expression rate of CD147 was associated with clinicopathological characteristics such as high histological grade, high clinical stage, estrogen receptor (ER) negative and HER2 positive. Conclusion CD147 expression in molecular subtypes of invasive breast cancer is consistent with the consensus of 2013 the 13th St Gallen International Breast Cancer Conference, i.e. luminal A subtype is more endocrine sensitive, indolent, and better prognosis, while luminal B subtype is less endocrine sensitive, more aggressive, and worse prognosis, and TNBC subtype and HER2-positive subtype are more frequent in women under 40 years of age with poor prognosis. The development of CD147 antibodies may be helpful for individualized targeted treatment of TNBC subtype of invasive breast cancer.

Key words: CD147, invasive breast cancer, molecular subtype, immunohistochemistry, prognosis