الفهرس 
INTRODUCTIONOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), defined as lacking the expression of estrogen receptor alpha (ERα), progesterone receptor and human epidermal growth factor receptor is an aggressive breast cancer subtype for which there is a need to identify new therapeutic targets. About 50-80% of TNBC express Estrogen Receptor Beta (ERβ). Given its slight differences from ERα in terms of structure, signaling and its anti-proliferative effects on breast cancer cells, ERβ may be a possible therapeutic target. This study sought to assess the presence of ERβ and its correlation with the clinico-pathological features among the Egyptian females with TNBC.
The study was a retrospective analysis. The following data was retrieved from patient’s files and recorded: age, tumor size, lymph nodes metastasis, and stage. Paraffin blocks for patients confirmed by IHC to be TNBC were subjected to immunohistochemically staining for ERβ, CK5/6, and Ki-67.
ERβ was positive in 80% of cases. ERβ significantly correlated with age, menopausal status, tumor size, lymph nodes, stage and CK5/6. There was no correlation between ERβ with family history, pattern of recurrence, grade and Ki-67. All 8 patients without ERβ had an aggressive disease. Four received neoadjuvant chemotherapy with minimum or no pathologic complete response in the axillary lymph nodes, two presented with upfront metastatic disease while the other two were cases of local recurrence with a change in the molecular phenotype of the tumor from luminal subtype to TNBC.
This study shows ERβ expression occurs in TNBC. It may have the potential to become a therapeutic target for TNBC.