Stathmin expression and its relationship to microtubule-associated protein tau and outcome in breast cancer

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs) endogenously regulate microtubule stability. Here, the prognostic value of stathmin, a destabilizing protein, was assessed in combination with MAP-Tau, a stabilizing protein, in order to evaluate microtubule stabilization as a potential biomarker. METHODS: Stathmin and MAP-Tau expression levels were measured in a breast cancer cohort (n = 651) using the tissue microarray format and quantitative immunofluorescence (AQUA) technology, then correlated with clinical and pathological characteristics and disease-free survival. RESULTS: Univariate Cox proportional hazard models indicated that high stathmin expression predicts worse overall survival (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.48; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.119-1.966; P =.0061). Survival analysis showed 10-year survival of 53.1% for patients with high stathmin expression versus 67% for low expressers (log-rank, P