Expression and clinical significance of FPARγ and β-catenin in breast cancer

Objective To study the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) and β-catenin in breast cancer, and their correlations with clinicopathological parameters and prognosis. Methods Tissue samples obtained from 70 patients with breast cancer and 20 patients with breast benign mass were immunohistochemically examined for the expression of PPARγ and p-catenin. Results Overexpression rate of PPARγ protein was 34. 3% in breast cancer, significantly lower than that in breast benign mass. Abnormal expression rate of β-catenin in breast cancer was 67. 1%. A significant negative-correlation was found between the expression of PPARγ and β-catenin (r=-0. 398,P<0.05 ). PPARγ expression was inversely associated with histologic grade, tumor size, axillary lymph node metastasis,TNM stage and Ki-67 expression (P<0. 05), while positively correlated with ER status and overall survival rate (P<0. 05). Abnormal β-catenin expression was positively associated with histologic grade, axillary lymph node metastasis and TNM stage (P<0. 05), while inversely correlated with overall survival rate (P<0.05). Conclusion PPARγ and β-catenin are correlated with development of breast carcinoma,suggesting that detection of PPARγ and β-catenin may be of value in evaluating the biological behaviors and the prognosis of breast cancer.