Prognostic value of Ephrin A receptors in 3554 breast cancer patients: microarray data with 20 years of follow-up

Objective: Ephrin A (EphA) receptors are involved in tumorigenesis, metastasis, and angiogenesis, making them attractive candidates for new anti-cancer therapies. Here, we investigated the prognostic value of EphA receptor expression in breast cancer (BC). Methods: We analyzed EphA mRNA levels and survival information through the Kaplan-Meier plotter database. In total, we included 3554 breast cancer patients with a median follow-up of 20 years. A 95% confidence interval (CI) and Hazard ratio (HR) were used to assess the overall relative risk of BC outcome. Results: Our results showed that EphA1 (HR = 0.67, 95% CI: 0.6-0.75, p = 6.3 x 10(-)(12)), EphA2 (HR = 0.79, 95% CI: 0.7-0.89, p = 5.2 x 10(-)(5)), EphA3 (HR = 0.78, 95% CI: 0.69-0.87, p = 1.7 x 10(-)(5)), EphA4 (HR = 0.72, 95% CI: 0.61-0.86, p = 3 x 10(-)(4)), EphA5 (HR = 0.68, 95% CI: 0.57-0.82, p = 4.3 x 10(-)(5)) EphA6 (HR = 0.8, 95% CI: 0.66-0.98, p = 0.027), EphA8 (HR = 0.52, 95% CI: 0.44-0.62, p = 2.6 x 10(-)(14) ) and EphA10 (HR = 0.58, 95% CI: 0.5-0.68, p = 3.6 x 10(-)(11)) were correlated with better relapse-free survival (RFS), while EphA7 (HR = 1.19, 95% CI: 1.02-1.4, p = 0.031) was correlated with a worse RFS in breast cancer patients. Conclusions: Our analyisis demonstrate that profiling EphA receptor mRNA expression in BC patients has prognostic value.

Automated summary

This study investigated the prognostic value of EphA receptor expression in breast cancer patients, and found that certain EphA receptors were correlated with better relapse-free survival while others were associated with a worse outcome.