Mesothelin expression and survival outcomes in triple receptor negative breast cancer

Clin Breast Cancer. 2013 Oct;13(5):378-84. doi: 10.1016/j.clbc.2013.05.001. Epub 2013 Jun 27.

Abstract

Background: Mesothelin is an ideal tumor-associated marker for the development of targeted therapy due to its limited expression in normal tissues. The aim of this study was to evaluate mesothelin expression in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and its correlation with survival outcomes.

Methods: Mesothelin expression was completed by using immunohistochemistry and was quantified by the H score. An H score > 10 was considered positive. Patient characteristics were compared by mesothelin expression. The Kaplan-Meier product limit method was used to estimate survival outcomes. Cox proportional hazards models was used to adjust for patient and tumor characteristics.

Results: The median age was 52 years. Of the 109 patients with TNBC, 37 (34%) were positive for mesothelin expression. There were no differences on patient and/or tumor characteristics by mesothelin expression with the exception of high frequency of lymphovascular space invasion in mesothelin-negative tumors (2P = .03). At a median follow-up of 75.8 months, 20 (18.3%) patients had experienced a recurrence, and 22 (20.2%) had died. Five-year progression-free survival was 87% and 92% in patients with mesothelin-positive and those with mesothelin-negative tumors (2P = .43). Five-year overall survival was 85% and 91% in patients with mesothelin-positive and those with mesothelin-negative tumors (2P = .57), respectively. Mesothelin expression was not an independent predictor of survival outcomes.

Conclusion: Mesothelin expression was identified in 34% of patients with TNBC. Mesothelin expression did not correlate with survival outcomes in patients with TNBC.

Keywords: Mesothelin expression; Prognosis; Triple-negative breast cancer.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Biomarkers, Tumor / metabolism
  • Female
  • GPI-Linked Proteins / metabolism*
  • Humans
  • Mesothelin
  • Middle Aged
  • Prognosis
  • Survival Analysis
  • Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms / diagnosis
  • Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms / metabolism
  • Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms / mortality*

Substances

  • Biomarkers, Tumor
  • GPI-Linked Proteins
  • Mesothelin