Investigation of PTEN gene expression levels in patients with different stages and grades of breast cancer

Abstract

Background: Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women that cause death genetic and environmental factors affect the development of breast cancer. In many studies, it has been determined that PTEN is an important tumor suppressor gene for breast cancers and its loss induces carcinogenesis in the breast. Materials and Methods: In our study, mRNA expression levels of PTEN gene were determined in tumor tissues and peripheral blood samples of 31 cases diagnosed with breast cancer, and breast tissues and peripheral blood samples of 5 healthy individuals. Real- time polymerase chain reaction method was used for the analysis. Results: In this study, PTEN gene expression in tumor tissues and peripheral blood samples of breast cancer patients were determined compared to controls. The mRNA level of the PTEN gene in peripheral blood samples significantly downregulated (0.501-fold) (p<0.05), while it upregulated (1.109-fold) in tumor tissues (p>0.05). There was a contrast between PTEN gene expression behavior between blood and tissue. In addition, PTEN gene expression was downregulated in almost all peripheral blood samples of patients with breast cancer stage IIA. Additionally, it appears that PTEN gene expression was upregulated in tumor tissue in every histological grade while downregulated in peripheral blood. Conclusion: In general, when our results are evaluated, we think that the decrease in the mRNA levels of the PTEN gene (down regulation) in the peripheral blood of breast cancer cases may be a potential finding in early stage diagnosis. These data will shed light on new comprehensive studies.