Phosphorylation of ER alpha at serine 118 in primary breast cancer and in tamoxifen-resistant tumours is indicative of a complex role for ER alpha phosphorylation in breast cancer progression

Oestrogen receptor-α (ERα) is an important prognostic marker in breast cancer and endocrine therapies are designed to inhibit or prevent ERα activity. In vitro studies have indicated that phosphorylation of ERα, in particular on serine 118 (S118), can result in activation in a ligand-independent manner, thereby potentially contributing to resistance to endocrine agents, such as tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitors. Here we report the immunohistochemistry (IHC) of S118 phosphorylation in 301 primary breast tumour biopsies. Surprisingly, this analysis shows that S118 phosphorylation is higher in more differentiated tumours, suggesting that phosphorylation at this site is associated with a good prognosis in patients not previously treated with endocrine agents. However, we also report that S118 phosphorylation was elevated in tumour biopsies taken from patients who had relapsed following tamoxifen treatment, when compared to pre-treatment biopsies. Taken together, these data are consistent with the view that S118 phosphorylation is a feature of normal ERα function and that increases in levels of phosphorylation at this site may play a key role in the emergence of endocrine resistance in breast cancer

International News and Global Integration: A Five-Nation Reappraisal

This study challenges the ruling orthodoxy that foreign news tends to be reported in divergent ways, reflecting the interests and identity of the home nation. Instead it concludes that the Greek and American elections in 2012 were reported in very similar ways in the leading news media of five countries located in different continents. In the case of the 2012 Chinese election, there were striking affinities in the news reporting of four out of five countries. Powerful forces that make for global conformity include the dominance of a small number of international news agencies, the emergence of a transnational journalistic culture, the hegemony of market liberal thought, the legacy of the cold war, and the shared perspectives of allied states