Approximately 7% of breast cancer patients who undergo radiotherapy may develop loco-regional tumour recurrence within 5 years. - GreenMedInfo Summary
A pilot study to investigate the role of the 26S proteasome in radiotherapy resistance and loco-regional recurrence following breast conserving therapy for early breast cancer.
Breast. 2011 Mar 14. Epub 2011 Mar 14. PMID: 21411324
Cancer Biology Proteomics Group, Postgraduate Medical Institute of the University of Hull, Hull, UK; Academic Surgical Unit, Hull and East Yorkshire NHS Trust, Hull, UK.
Breast conserving therapy is a currently accepted method for managing patients with early stage breast cancer. However, approximately 7% of patients may develop loco-regional tumour recurrence within 5 years. We previously reported that expression of the 26S proteasome may be associated with radio-resistance. Here we aimed to analyse the 26S proteasome in a pilot series of early breast cancers and correlate the findings with loco-regional recurrence. Fourteen patients with early breast cancer who developed loco-regional recurrence within 4 years of completing breast conserving therapy were selected according to strict criteria and compared with those from 14 patients who were disease-free at 10 years. Decreased expression of the 26S proteasome was significantly associated with radio-resistance, manifested as the development of a loco-regional recurrence within 4 years of breast conserving therapy (p=0.018). This small pilot study provides further suggestion that the 26S proteasome may be associated with response to radiotherapy.
