Expression of the Chemokine Receptor CXCR4 in Breast Cancer and Its Clinical Significance

Objective To investigate the expression of chemokine receptor CXCR4 in breast cancer and its relationship to the clinicopathological features of breast cancer.Methods Expression of CXCR4 was evaluated by immunohistochemical study in 46 breast cancer specimens,30 paracancerous specimens and 30 normal breast specimens.The relation between the staining expression and clinico-pathological features including age,tumor size,estrogen receptor(ER),progesterone receptor(PR),TMN stage,pathological grade,and lymph node metastasis was examined.Results The high expression rate of CXCR4 in 46 breast cancer specimens was 61%.The lever of CXCR4 expression was significantly higher in the breast cancer than that in the normal breast and paracancerous tissues(P0.01).High expression of CXCR4 was correlated significantly with TNM stage,pathological grade,and lymph node metastasis(P0.05).Conclusion CXCR4 is expressed in the breast cancer at a high frequency.The high expression of CXCR4 may play an important role in invasion and metastasis of breast cancer.