Prognostic significance of TMEM16A, PPFIA1, and FADD expression in invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast

BACKGROUND 11q13 region is a frequently amplified locus in human malignancies. Among the genes located in this region, FADD is one of the alleged driving genes. Because amplification is not generally confined to a single gene and amplified genes may not show increased expression, we need to evaluate clinical significance of changes occurring in 11q13 region to understand their roles in carcinogenesis. Therefore, we screened expressions of FADD and closely located genes (PPFIA1 and TMEM16A) and evaluated the expressions to find clinical significance in invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast. METHODS Ninety-eight cases of invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast were collected. Using archival tissues resected from the cases, we built a tissue microarray and used it in immunohistochemistry. We evaluated the association of FADD, PPFIA1, and TMEM16A expression scores with clinicopathological parameters, including disease-free survival. RESULTS FADD expression was associated with T stage (P=0.046). The combined score of FADD, PPFIA1, and TMEM16A gene expressions was associated with perineural invasion (P=0.022). Although individual gene expressions of TMEM16A, FADD, and PPFIA1 failed to show significant association with disease-free survival, combined gene expression scores did show association with disease-free survival (P=0.034). CONCLUSIONS FADD, TMEM16A, and PPFIA1 gene expressions as a whole were associated with disease-free survival in breast cancer.