Increased Expression of Fibroblastic Growth Factor Receptor 2 Is Correlated With Poor Prognosis in Patients With Breast Cancer

Background and objectives: Although there is growing evidence supporting the hypothesis that fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2) is one of the few candidate genes linked with breast cancer susceptibility, the precise role of FGFR2 protein expression in breast cancer is still unknown. Our study examines FGFR2 protein expression in breast cancer and determines its associations with clinicopathological features and survival. Methods: Specimens from 125 invasive ductal carcinoma grade 2 (IDC2) breast cancer patients were investigated by immunohistochemistry for FGFR2 protein expression. Associations between the expression of FGFR2 and various clinicopathological features as well as survival status were studied. Result: Cytoplasmic and nuclear FGFR2 were expressed in 64.8% and 56.8% of breast cancer patients, respectively. Cytoplasmic FGFR2 expression was significantly associated with tumor size and TNM stage. Furthermore, patients with high expression levels of cytoplasmic and nuclear FGFR2 showed much lower overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) rates than those patients with low FGFR2 expression. Cytoplasmic FGFR2 expression and lymph node metastasis were independent prognostic factors for both DFS and OS by multivariate analysis. Conclusions: High FGFR2 expression is correlated with poor OS and DFS in breast cancer patients. It could be a biomarker for poor prognosis. J. Surg. Oncol. 2012; 105:773-779. (C) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.