Aquaporin 1 (AQP1) expression is a novel characteristic feature of a particularly aggressive subgroup of basal-like breast carcinomas

Friedrich Otterbach (1, 2, 3) , Rainer Callies (3, 4) , Michael Adamzik (5) , Rainer Kimmig (2, 3, 4) , Winfried Siffert (2, 6) , Kurt W. Schmid (1, 2, 3) , Agnes Bankfalvi (1)

1 Institute of Pathology and Neuropathology
2 West German Cancer Centre Essen (WTZE)
3 University Breast Cancer Centre Essen
4 Clinic of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
5 Clinic of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care
6 Institute of Pharmacogenetics

Aquaporin1 (AQP1) is a water channel protein that facilitates water flux across cell membranes. It is widely expressed in epithelial and endothelial cells in several tissues. AQP1 is also associated with angiogenesis, cell migration and metastasis in some human malignancies. In this study the immunohistochemical expression of AQP1 in 203 invasive breast carcinomas with long-term follow up was investigated. AQP1 expression was demonstrated in 11 tumours (5.4%) and showed highly significant correlation with high tumour grade, medullary-like histology, “triple-negativity”, cytokeratin 14 and smooth muscle actin expression. In univariate analysis, AQP1 was significantly associated with poor prognosis. In multivariate analysis, AQP1 expression proved to be an independent prognostic marker if stratified by age, tumour size, lymph node status, histological grade, ER status and CMF therapy. Our results strongly suggest that AQP1 expression is a new characteristic feature of a particularly aggressive subgroup of basal-like breast carcinomas.

Mots clés: Aquaporin; AQP1; Breast carcinoma; Prognosis

Friedrich Otterbach, Rainer Callies, Michael Adamzik, Rainer Kimmig, Winfried Siffert, et al.. Aquaporin 1 (AQP1) expression is a novel characteristic feature of a particularly aggressive subgroup of basal-like breast carcinomas. Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, 2009, 120 (1), pp.67-76. ⟨10.1007/s10549-009-0370-9⟩. ⟨hal-00535348⟩