Year: 2021
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Young women's breast cancer (YWBC) has poor prognosis and known interactions with parity. Women diagnosed within 5-10 years of childbirth, defined as postpartum breast cancer (PPBC), have poorer prognosis compared to age, stage, and biologic subtype-matched nulliparous patients. Genomic differences that explain this poor prognosis remain unknown. In this study, using RNA expression data from clinically matched estrogen receptor positive (ER+) cases (n = 16), we observe that ER+ YWBC can be differentiated based on a postpartum or nulliparous diagnosis. The gene expression signatures of PPBC are consistent with increased cell cycle, T-cell activation and reduced estrogen receptor and TP53 signaling. When applied to a large YWBC cohort, these signatures for ER+ PPBC associate with significantly reduced 15-year survival rates in high compared to low expressing cases. Cumulatively these results provide evidence that PPBC is a unique entity within YWBC with poor prognostic phenotypes.
Source: Nature Communications
Language: English
Subfield: Cancer Research
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $5,560
Funders: Avon Foundation for Women, Collins Medical Trust, Kaiser Permanente, Oregon Health and Science University, Division of Cancer Prevention, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Oregon Clinical and Translational Research Institute, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Knight Cancer Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, National Cancer Institute, U.S. National Library of Medicine
OpenAlex ID: W3209962259