Estrogen Receptor-α Phosphorylation at Serine 305, Nuclear p21-Activated Kinase 1 Expression, and Response to Tamoxifen in Postmenopausal Breast Cancer

Purpose: In vitro, p21-activated kinase 1 (Pak1) phosphorylates the serine 305 residue of the estrogen receptor alpha (ER alpha) and influences the response of breast cancer cells to tamoxifen. We investigated the influence of Pak1 and pER alpha(ser305) on breast cancer prognosis and results of tamoxifen therapy. Experimental Design: We examined Pak1 and pER alpha(ser305) protein by immunohistochemistry in a series of 912 tumors from node-negative breast cancer patients randomized to tamoxifen or no adjuvant endocrine treatment. Results: Cytoplasmic Pak1 correlated to large tumors and ER negativity, whereas nuclear Pak1 and pER alpha(ser305) correlated to small tumors and ER positivity. Nuclear expression of Pak1 and pER alpha(ser305) predicted reduced response to tamoxifen in patients with ER alpha-positive tumors (tamoxifen versus no tamoxifen: hazard ratio (HR), 1.33; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 0.42-4.2; P = 0.63), whereas patients lacking this combination benefitted significantly from tamoxifen (HR, 0.43; 95% CI, 0.30-0.62; P < 0.0001). Similar nonsignificant trends were detected in analyses of the proteins separately. Pak1 in the cytoplasm was an independent prognostic marker, indicating increased recurrence rate (HR, 1.79; 95% CI, 1.17-2.74; P = 0.0068) and breast cancer mortality (HR, 1.98; 95% CI, 1.14-3.46; P = 0.016) for patients randomized to no adjuvant treatment. Conclusion: Our results suggest that patients with tumors expressing Pak1 and pER alpha(ser305) in combination are a group in which tamoxifen treatment is insufficient. In addition, the pathway may be of interest as a drug target in breast cancer. Furthermore, the findings support previous studies showing that Pak1 has differential roles in the cytoplasm and the nucleus. Clin Cancer Res; 16(5); 1624-33. (C) 2010 AACR.