Identifying the role of PTPN12 expression in predicting the efficacy of capecitabine to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer treatment.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of PTPN12 in human breast cancer and its role in predicting the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) for breast cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The PTPN12 expression levels were assessed by immunohistochemical staining in 114 breast cancer patients. The correlation of PTPN12 with clinicopathological features was also analyzed. Multivariate logistic regression was used to explore the effect of PTPN12 expression in predicting clinical response. RESULTS: We observed a significant association of PTPN12 expression with cTNM classification. The overall pathological complete response (pCR) rate was 23.2 % in high PTPN12 expression group, whereas it was 5.2% in low PTPN12 expression group. The multivariate regression analyses further indicated that clinical response correlated with PTPN12 expression level and cycles of NACT, and CEX regimen was associated with the overall pathological complete response. In addition, Spearman rank correlation analyses suggested that higher PTPN12 expression indicated better clinical response in breast cancer patients. Furthermore, PTPN12 expression statistically related with pathological response in TNBC and Luminal B subtypes, as assessed by Pearson Chi-square test or Fisher's exact test. CONCLUSIONS: Our study informed that cTNM classification is an independent risk factor for PTPN12 expression and PTPN12 is an independent predictor to clinical remission.