Breast cancer: Low THRα-2 expression correlates with unfavorable tumor characteristics and high mortality

Key clinical point: Low vs high expression of tumor-specific thyroid hormone receptor alpha-2 (THRα-2) was associated with unfavorable tumor characteristics and higher breast cancer-specific mortality in women with invasive breast cancer.

Major finding: Low vs high THRα-2 expression was associated with estrogen receptor (ER) negativity (odds ratio [OR], 4.04; 95% CI, 2.28-7.15), tumor size of >20-50 mm (OR, 2.20; 95% CI, 1.39-3.49), and high risk for breast cancer-specific mortality in the overall population (hazard ratio [HR], 1.38; 95% CI, 0.96-1.99) and among women with ER-positive tumors (adjusted HR, 1.31; 95% CI, 1.01-1.73).

Study details: Findings are from a follow-up of a population-based cohort, the Malmö Diet and Cancer Study consisting of 17,035 women, of which 654 women with invasive breast cancer and evaluable tumor tissue were included in the present study.

,

Disclosures: This study was funded by the Swedish Cancer Society, Gunnar Nilsson Cancer Foundation, Ernhold Lundström Foundation, and other sources. The authors declared no conflict of interests.

Source: Sandsveden M et al. Breast Cancer Res. 2021 Dec 20. doi: 10.1186/s13058-021-01496-7.