SGK3 is associated with estrogen receptor expression in breast cancer

Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2012 Jul;134(2):531-41. doi: 10.1007/s10549-012-2081-x. Epub 2012 May 11.

Abstract

While breast cancer mortality rate has seen a steady decline in the last few decades, advances in better treatment and diagnostic tools remain important as we come into the age of personalized therapy. In this report, we describe our studies of SGK3's role in breast cancer. SGK3 (also known as CISK) is a member of the AGC family of kinases. Our previous work indicates that SGK3 functions downstream of the PI 3-kinase cascade and shares molecular and biochemical similarities with Akt. Here, we show that SGK3 expression is linked to estrogen receptor (ER) both in breast caner cell lines and in primary tumor samples. Our analysis also indicated a positive correlation between SGK3 expression and tumor prognosis. Importantly, our immunochemistry analysis of human tumor samples established a clinical link between SGK3 expression and ER+ tumors. These findings implicate SGK3 as an additional component to a complex and heterogeneous disease, and point to the potential benefits of incorporating SGK3 into the process of breast cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Breast Neoplasms / metabolism*
  • Breast Neoplasms / mortality
  • Breast Neoplasms / pathology
  • Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast / metabolism*
  • Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast / mortality
  • Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast / pathology
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Disease-Free Survival
  • Female
  • Gene Expression
  • Humans
  • Logistic Models
  • Middle Aged
  • Multivariate Analysis
  • Prognosis
  • Proportional Hazards Models
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / genetics
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / metabolism*
  • Receptors, Estrogen / metabolism*

Substances

  • Receptors, Estrogen
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases
  • SGK3 protein, human