Background & objective: Identifying breast cancer patients with high risk and treating them with relevant treatments is a key to improve their survival. This study was to investigate the correlations of human epidermal receptor-2 (HER-2), proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), Bcl-2, and Bax expression to the prognosis of breast cancer.
Methods: The expression of HER-2, PCNA, Bcl-2, and Bax in 50 specimens of breast cancer was detected by immunohistochemistry with EnVision staining. Their correlations to the survival time of the patients were analyzed.
Results: The positive rates of HER-2, PCNA, Bcl-2, and Bax in breast cancer tissues were 44.0%, 82.0%, 48.0% and 54.0%, respectively. The median survival for the patients was 62 months, and the 5-year overall survival rate and disease-free survival rate were 82.0% and 38.0%, respectively. Univariate survival analysis suggested that HER-2 and Bax had significant influence on tumor recurrence (P< 0.001). Cox multivariate analysis indicated that the expression of HER-2 and Bax were correlated to regional recurrence and distant metastasis (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01), and Bcl-2 and Bax proteins were independent predictors of overall survival (P < 0.05).
Conclusion: HER-2 and Bax are related to poor prognosis of breast cancer, while Bcl-2 is related to good prognosis.