Skip to main content
Log in

MUC1 expression in primary breast cancer: the effect of tamoxifen treatment

  • Published:
Breast Cancer Research and Treatment Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This was a non-randomised single institution retrospective study. Forty-six banked frozen tumour specimens were obtained from a group of patients who had undergone 3 weeks of neoadjuvant treatment with tamoxifen between biopsy and surgery. Fifty-one comparison specimens were randomly selected from a group of concomitantly treated primary breast cancer patients who did not receive neoadjuvant tamoxifen. Specimen selection was not based on prognostic factors: hormone receptor status, patient age, or menopausal status. MUC1 expression and cell cycle distribution were assessed by flow cytometry. S-phase fraction of MUC1 positive and MUC1 negative cells were compared. A lower percentage of cells expressed MUC1 following 3-week tamoxifen treatment 18.2% versus 28.5% (p=0.03, Mann-Whitney) and lower levels of MUC1 expression were seen following tamoxifen treatment 31,519 molecules/cell versus 39,387 (p=0.04, Mann-Whitney). MUC1 positive cells, irrespective of treatment group, had a greater proportion of cells in S-phase of the cell cycle 27.9% versus 16.8% (p=0.0004, Mann-Whitney) and demonstrated more cases of aneuploidy 80.65% versus 42.6% (p<0.0001). MUC1 levels in primary tumours treated neoadjunctively with 3 weeks of tamoxifen were lower than a comparison group which did not receive tamoxifen. MUC1 should be explored further as an intermediate biomarker for assessment of treatment and prognosis.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Gendler SJ, Spicer AP: Epithelial mucin genes. Ann Rev Physiol 57: 607-603, 1995

    Google Scholar 

  2. Shanker V, Pichan P, Roger LE, Tonk V, Nowak N, Sait SN, Shows TB, Schultz RE, Gotaway G, Elkins RC, Gilmore MS, Sachdev GP: Chromosome localisation of a human mucin gene (MUC8) and cloning of the cDNA corresponding to the carboxy terminus. Am J Res Cell Mol Biol 16: 232-241, 1997

    Google Scholar 

  3. Gendler SJ, Cohen EP, Craston A, Duhig T, Johnstone G, Barnes D: The locus of the polymorphic epithelial mucin (PEM) tumour antigen on chromosome 1q21 shows a high frequency of alteration in primary human breast tumours. Int J Cancer 45: 431-435, 1990

    Google Scholar 

  4. Hilkens J, Vos HL, Wesseling J, Boer M, Storm J, van der Valk SW, Calafat J, Patriarca C: Is episialin/MUC1 involved in breast cancer progression? Cancer Lett 90: 27-33, 1995

    Google Scholar 

  5. Wesseling J, van der Valk SW, Hilkens J: A mechanism for inhibition of E-cadherin-mediated cell-cell adhesion by the membrane-associated mucin episialin/MUC1. Mol Biol Cell 7: 565-577, 1996

    Google Scholar 

  6. Yamamoto M, Bharti A, Li Y, Kufe D: Interaction of the DF3/MUC1 breast carcinoma-associated antigen and betacatenin in cell adhesion. J Biol Chem 272: 12492-12494, 1997

    Google Scholar 

  7. Agrawal B, Krantz MJ, Reddish MA, Longenecker BM: Cancer-associated MUC1 muc in inhibits human T-cell proliferation, which is reversible by IL-2. Nature Med 4: 43-49, 1998

    Google Scholar 

  8. Gimmi CD, Morrison BW, Mainprice BA, Gribben JG, Boussiotis VA, Freeman GJ, Park SY, Watanabe M, Gong J, Hayes DF, Kufe, DW, Nadler LM: Breast cancer-associated antigen, DF3/MUC1, induces apoptosis of activated human T cells. Nature Med 2: 1367-1370, 1996

    Google Scholar 

  9. Zhang K, Sikut R, Hansson GC: A MUC1 muc in secreted from a colon carcinoma cell line inhibits target cell lysis by natural killer cells. Cell Immunol 176: 158-165, 1997

    Google Scholar 

  10. McGuckin MA, Walsh MD, Hohn BG, Ward BG, Wright RG: Prognostic significance of MUC1 epithelial mucin expression in breast cancer. Hum Pathol 26: 432-439, 1995

    Google Scholar 

  11. Botti C, Seregni E, Lombardo C, Massaron S, Bombardieri E: Effects of steroid-free fetal serum and steroid supplementation on MUC1 gene expression in human breast cancer cell line MCF7. Anticancer Res 17: 205-208, 1997

    Google Scholar 

  12. Hild-Petito S, Fazleabas AT, Julian J, Carson DD: Muc in (Muc-1) expression is differentially regulated in uterine luminal and glandular epithelia of the baboon (Papio anubis). Biol Reprod 54: 939-947, 1996

    Google Scholar 

  13. Surveyor GA, Gendler SJ, Pemberton L, Das SK, Chakraborty I, Julian J, Pimental RA, Wegner CC, Dey SK, Carson DD: Expression and steroid hormonal control of Muc-1 in the mouse uterus. Endocrinology 136: 3639-3647, 1995

    Google Scholar 

  14. Fernando IN, Titley JC, Powles TJ, Dowsett M, Trott PA, Ashley SE, Ford HT, Ormerod MG: Measurement of S-phase fraction and ploidy in sequential fine-needle aspirates from primary human breast tumours treated with tamoxifen. Br J Cancer 70: 1211-1216, 1994

    Google Scholar 

  15. Shankey TV, Rabinovitch PS, Bagwell B, Bauer KD, Duque RE, Hedley DW, Mayall BH, Wheeless L: Guidelines for implementation of clinical DNA cytometry. Cytometry 14: 472-477, 1993

    Google Scholar 

  16. Hedley DW, Clark GM, Cornelisse CJ, Killander D, Kute T, Merkel D: Consensus reveiw of the clinical utility of DNA cytometry in carcinoma of the breast. Cytometry 14: 482-485, 1993

    Google Scholar 

  17. Jaiyesimi IA, Buzdar AU, Decker DA, Hortobagyi GN: Use of tamoxifen for breast cancer: Twenty-eight years later. J Clin Oncol 13: 513-529, 1995

    Google Scholar 

  18. Bracke ME, Charlier C, Bruyneel EA, Labit C, Mareel MM, Castronovo V: Tamoxifen restores the E-caderin function in human breast cancer MCF-7/6 cells and suppresses their invasive phenotype. Cancer Res 54: 4607-4609, 1994

    Google Scholar 

  19. Ho SB, Niehans GA, Lyftogt C, Pei SY, Cherwitz DL, Gum ET, Dahiya R, Kim YS: Heterogenicity of mucin gene expression in normal and neoplastic tissues. Cancer Res 53: 641-651, 1993

    Google Scholar 

  20. Poncelet P and Carayon P: Cytofluorometric quantification of cell-surface antigens by indirect immunofluorescence using monoclonal antibodies. J Immunol Meth 85: 65-74, 1985

    Google Scholar 

  21. Kufe D, Inghirami C, Abe M, Hayes D, Justi Wheeler H, Schlom J: Differential reactivity of a novel monoclonal antibody (DF3) with human malignant versus benign breast tumors. Hybridoma 3: 223-232, 1984

    Google Scholar 

  22. Zhang K, Sikut R, Hansson GC: A MUC1 muc in secreted from a colon carcinoma cell line inhibits target cell lysis by natural killer cells. Cell Immunol 176: 158-165, 1997

    Google Scholar 

  23. Hayes DF, Silberstein DS, Rodrique SW, Kufe DW: DF3 antigen, a human epithelial cell mucin, inhibits adhesion of eosinophils to antibody-coated targets. J Immunol 145: 962-970, 1990

    Google Scholar 

  24. Kim YS, Gum JJ, Brockhausen I: Mucin glycoproteins in neoplasia. Glyco J 13: 693-707, 1996

    Google Scholar 

  25. Botti C, Seregni E, Lombardo C, Massaron S, Bombardleri E: Effects of steroid-free fetal serum and steroid supplementation on MUC1 gene expression in human breast cancer cell line MCF7. Anticancer Res 17: 205-208, 1997

    Google Scholar 

  26. Surveyor GA, Gendler SJ, Pemberton L, Das SK, Wegner CC, Dey SK, Carlson DD: Expression and steroid hormonal control of MUC-1 in the mouse uterus. Endocrinology 136: 3642-3647, 1995

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Hanson, J., BroweIl, D., Cunliffe, W. et al. MUC1 expression in primary breast cancer: the effect of tamoxifen treatment. Breast Cancer Res Treat 67, 215–222 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1017955726902

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1017955726902

Navigation