STAT3 expression is correlated with pathological stage in luminal subtypes of breast carcinoma.

AIM: STATs and HIFs in human solid tumors play an important role in mechanisms of tumor growth. The aim of this study was to determine the prognostic role of STATs and HIFs in breast cancers. METHODS: Twenty­four breast carcinoma cases who underwent mastectomy and axillary dissection were included into the study. The presence of STATs and HIFs in 24 breast cancer cases was evaluated immunohistochemically. We evaluated the differences in tumor grade, diameter, limits, intratumor desmoplasia, inflammatory infiltration, necrosis, axillary lymph node involvement, estrogen, progesterone and CerbB2 staining. RESULTS: In this study, the presence of STATs and HIFs expressions in breast tumors is shown. In our study, no statistically significant correlation was found between tumor grade, diameter, limits, intratumor desmoplasia, inflammatory infiltration, necrosis, axillary lymph node involvement, CerbB2 staining status and STATs and HIFs expressions. However, STAT5a and estrogen staining and HIF2α and progesterone staining were found statistically significant. In addition, STAT3 expression was found to have significantly higher correlation with luminal breast cancer. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that STATs and HIFs may play a role in the development of invasive ductal carcinomas; concerning their future use as treatment options due to their association with hormone receptors, new studies are required (Tab. 6, Fig. 7, Ref. 65).