Positive correlation between the expression of hEag1 and HIF-1 alpha in breast cancers: an observational study

Objectives: To explore the expression patterns of Eag1 (ether a go-go 1) and HIF-1 alpha (hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha) in a cohort of patients with breast cancer. Setting: Department of general surgery in an upper first-class hospital in Xi'an, China. Participants: A total of 112 female Han Chinese patients with a diagnosis of invasive ductal carcinoma were included. Patients with main internal diseases, such as cardiovascular, endocrine, gastroenterological, haematological, infectious diseases, etc, were excluded. Primary and secondary outcome measures: Expression profiles of Eag1 and HIF-1 alpha. Results: Eag1 and HIF-1 alpha were overexpressed in the tumour tissues compared with the pair-matched control tissues, p=0.002 and <0.001, respectively. The expression of Eag1 and HIF-1 alpha was negatively correlated with tumour size, p=0.032 and p=0.025, respectively, and lymph node status (p=0.040, p=0.032, respectively). The coexpression of Eag1 and HIF-1 alpha was correlated with tumour size (p=0.012), lymph node status (p=0.027) and tumour stage (p=0.036). HIF-1 alpha has a strong correlation with hEag1 expression (kappa=0.731, p<0.001). Conclusions: HIF-1 alpha expression has a strong correlation with hEag1 expression. We are the first to attempt to explore the correlation at the population level.