BACKGROUND: Wingless-type MMTV integration site family member 5A (Wnt5a) has been documented to either overexpress or be lost in several malignancies. Our study aimed to investigate the expression and clinical significance of Wnt5a protein in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).

MATERIAL AND METHODS: By using immunohistochemistry, Wnt5a expression was evaluated in 90 TNBC specimens. The association between Wnt5a expression and clinic-pathological factors was assessed by using the chi-square test. The survival analysis of patients was conducted by using the Kaplan-Meier and log-rank tests. Cox regression was utilized for the univariate and multivariate analyses of prognostic factors.

RESULTS: Results showed that negative Wnt5a expression correlated with positive lymph node metastasis (LNM) (P=0.007) and Ki67 proliferation (P=0.002). Patients with negative Wnt5a expression had significantly poorer recurrence-free survival (RFS) than patients with positive Wnt5a expression (P=0.008). Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that decreased Wnt5a expression was an independent prognostic factor for RFS (P=0.014).

CONCLUSIONS: Negative Wnt5a protein expression might contribute to the tumor progression and poor prognosis of TNBC and might be a new therapy target in TNBC.

Keywords: Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast - metabolism, Disease-Free Survival, Follow-Up Studies, Ki-67 Antigen - metabolism, Multivariate Analysis, Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis, Phenotype, Proportional Hazards Models, Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms - metabolism, Wnt-5a Protein - metabolism