Abstract:

Abstract:Objective
To investigate the expression level of STAT3 protein in human breast cancer tissues and corresponding adjacent normal mammary tissues,and clarify the relationship between STAT3 expression and clinical characters  in patients with breast cancer. Methods The expressions of STAT3 protein in 67 human breast cancer tissues  and the corresponding adjacent normal mammary tissues were detected by immunohistochemical technique.The expressions of STAT3 protein in patients with different clinicopathological parameters were analyzed. Results The expression rate of STAT3 protein in 67 human breast cancer tissues was 62.69% (42/67) which was significantly higher than that in normal  mammary tissues (25.37%,P<0.001). The expression level of STAT3  had no correlation with the age,tumor size and histological type in patients with breast cancer(P>0.05),but the expression of STAT3 protein was positively correlated with clinical stage,lymph node metastasis and survival time in  patients with breast cancer. The mean survival time of the patients with high expression of STAT3 protein was shorter than that of the patients with low expression of STAT3 protein(P<0.05). Conclusion STAT3 protein over-expression may play a promotion  role in the tumorigenesis and development of breast cancer,and may be an important prognostic factor in breast cancer.

Key words:  breast neoplasms;signal transducers and activators of transcription;prognosis;protein expression;immunohistochemistry