Polo-Like Kinase 1(PLK1) Immunohistochemical Expression in Triple Negative Breast Carcinoma: A Probable Therapeutic Target

Salama, Maha E; Khairy, Dina A

doi:10.31557/APJCP.2021.22.12.3921

Polo-Like Kinase 1(PLK1) Immunohistochemical Expression in Triple Negative Breast Carcinoma: A Probable Therapeutic Target

Document Type : Research Articles

Authors

Maha E Salama ¹
Dina A Khairy ²

¹ Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Egypt.

² Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Beni-Suef University, Egypt.

10.31557/APJCP.2021.22.12.3921

Abstract

Background: Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed female cancer and is a major cause of cancer-related deaths in women. Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is defined as ER, PR and HER2 negative, which are characterized by rapid progression with low survival rates with limited therapeutic choices. Polo-like kinase 1 protein acts as a cell division regulator which is highly expressed in many tumors making it a potentially valuable target for antiproliferative therapies. In this study we tried to evaluate the value of this marker as a possible therapeutic target in TNBC. Methods: This research studied the immunohistochemical expression of PLK1 done on 49 paraffin blocks of TNBC female patients and then correlated with the different clinicopathological parameters. Results: Our results showed high PLK1 expression in 91.9% of cases. Most of the high grade tumors showed high PLK1 high score (76.9%). All cases showing lymph node metastasis showed high PLK1 expression, implying a statistically significant correlation between PLK1 expression and tumor grade as well as N stage. Conclusion: PLK1, although a negative prognostic factor, but is a promising therapeutic target for treating TNBC patients.

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