World J Oncol

World Journal of Oncology, ISSN 1920-4531 print, 1920-454X online, Open Access

Article copyright, the authors; Journal compilation copyright, World J Oncol and Elmer Press Inc

Journal website http://www.wjon.org

Original Article

Volume 5, Number 1, February 2014, pages 14-23

Amplification of Genomic DNA for Decoy Receptor 3 Predicts Post-Resection Disease Recurrence in Breast Cancer Patients

Figures

Figure 1. DcR3 mRNA expression analysis by ISH. (A) Light microscopy of breast cancer cells. (B) DcR3 mRNA expression is prominent in breast cancer cells, as visualized with the antisense probe. (C) The signals for the sense probe are negligible in the breast cancer cells. (D) The signals for the antisense probe are negligible in the normal breast cells.

Figure 2. Correlation between DcR3 gene amplification and DcR3 mRNA expression. The relative copy number of DcR3 genomic DNA correlates significantly with the level of DcR3 mRNA expression (ρ = 0.755, P = 0.0067).

Figure 3. Relative copy numbers of DcR3 genomic DNA in 95 breast cancer tissues and 12 non-cancerous tissues. The median relative copy number in 95 breast cancer tissues is 1.19. DcR3 gene amplification was defined as ≥ 1.2 DcR3 copies in this study. The median relative copy number in 12 non-cancer tissues is 0.64.

Figure 4. Recurrence-free survival. The RFS of patients with DcR3 gene amplification is significantly lower than that of patients lacking DcR3 gene amplification, as assessed in the univariate analysis (P = 0.0271).

Tables

**Table 1.** Association Between DcR3 Gene Amplification and Clinicopathological Factors
Variable	No. of patients		P value
Variable	Positive for DcR3 genomic DNA	Negative for DcR3 genomic DNA	P value
DcR3: decoy receptor 3; ER: estrogen receptor; PgR: progesterone receptor; Her2: c-erbB2 receptor.
Age (years)			0.561
≤ 50	14	18
> 50	33	30
pT stage			0.532
pTis-T1	27	31
pT2-T4	20	17
pN stage			0.089
pN0	26	35
pN1-pN3	21	13
pTNM-stage			0.208
pStage 0-II	35	41
pStage III	12	7
Lymphatic invasion			0.012
Negative	32	43
Positive	15	5
Venous invasion			0.232
Negative	39	44
Positive	8	3
ER			0.152
Negative	26	19
Positive	21	29
PgR			0.062
Negative	32	23
Positive	15	25
Her2			0.767
Negative	42	41
Positive	5	7
Adjuvant therapy			0.339
No	9	14
Yes	38	34

**Table 2.** Univariate and Multivariate Analyses of Clinicopathological Factors and DcR3 Gene Amplification With Respect to RFS
Variable	No. of patients	5-year RFS (%)	Univariate analysis	Multivariate analysis
Variable	No. of patients	5-year RFS (%)	P value	Relative risk (95% CI)	P value
DcR3: decoy receptor 3; RFS: recurrence-free survival; CI: confidence interval.
DcR3 genomic DNA			0.0271
Low	48	85		1.00
High	47	70		2.898 (1.121 - 7.487)	0.028
ER			0.0269
Negative	45	68
Positive	50	86
pN			0.0018
pN0	61	87
pN1-3	34	61
pStage			< 0.0001
pStage 0-II	76	86		1.00
pStage III	19	45		8.638 (3.244 - 23.003)	< 0.001