Evaluation of Neurofibromatosis Gene Expression in Non-Hereditary Breast Cancer

Background: Breast cancer is the most common cause of death in women. Studies have shown that changes in neurofibromatosis gene expression can cause breast cancer. The aim of this study was to investigate the change of neurofibromatosis type 1 gene expression in non-hereditary breast cancer using real time PCR. Materials and Methods: In this study, 160 tissue samples were collected from patients following ethical principles. After lysis of tissues, extraction of RNA and synthesis of cDNA was performed. The amount of gene expression changes was investigated. Results: The results showed that the level of NF1 gene expression was dependent on the stages of the disease and as the stages progress, the level of expression of this gene showed a significant decrease. Conclusion: The use of gene biomarkers can help to diagnose and treat diseases faster. Along with examining other candidate genes, using NF1 gene expression analysis in breast cancer patients can be a suitable option for diagnosing the stages of disease progression

Healthy Male Individuals Possess Higher Plasma HER-2 Level than Females

Considering HER2 as one of the well-known biomarkers in the cancer field, and published articles regarding serumlevels of HER2, in this paper we tried to highlight the issue that most studies don’t stratify the HER-2 concentrationof individuals in terms of gender. In this brief survey, healthy individuals with no prior non-communicable diseaseswere categorized as males (n=34) and females (n=43), and all samples were evaluated for plasma HER-2 levelsat once. Surprisingly, the plasma level of HER-2 of healthy male individuals (mean= 2.28 ± 0.21 ng/mL) wassignificantly (P<0.0001) higher than the plasma level of HER-2 of healthy females (mean: 0.06 ± 0.09 ng/mL),with no overlap. Therefore, we suggest that more studies are required to re-check the cutoff values for HER-2plasma levels based on gender since the clinical implications of a unique HER-2 cutoff for both genders may beseriously concerning

Upregulation of RHOXF2 and ODF4 Expression in Breast Cancer Tissues

Objective: During the past decade, the importance of biomarker discovery has been highlighted in many aspects of cancer research. Biomarkers may have a role in early detection of cancer, prognosis and survival evaluation as well as drug response. Cancer-testis antigens (CTAs) have gained attention as cancer biomarkers because of their expression in a wide variety of tumors and restricted expression in testis. The aim of this study was to find putative biomarkers for breast cancer. Materials and Methods: In this applied-descriptive study, the expression of 4 CTAs, namely acrosin binding protein (ACRBP), outer dense fiber 4 (ODF4), Rhox homeobox family member 2 (RHOXF2) and spermatogenesis associated 19 (SPATA19) were analyzed at the transcript level in two breast cancer lines (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231), 40 invasive ductal carcinoma samples and their adjacent normal tissues as well as 10 fibroadenoma samples by means of quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Results: All four genes were expressed in both cell lines. Expression of ODF4 and RHOXF2 was detected in 62.5% and 60% of breast cancer tissues but in 22.5 and 17.5% of normal tissues examined respectively. The expression of both RHOXF2 and ODF4 was upregulated in cancerous tissues compared with their normal adjacent tissues by 3.31- and 2.96-fold respectively. The expression of both genes was correlated with HER2/neu overexpression. RHOXF2 expression but not ODF4 was correlated with higher stages of tumors. However, no significant association was seen between expression patterns and estrogen and progesterone receptors status. Conclusion: ODF4 and RHOXF2 are proposed as putative breast cancer biomarkers at the transcript level. However, their expression at protein level should be evaluated in future studies