Nectin-2 and Nectin-4 Adhesion Molecules in Patients with Breast Cancer

OBJECTIVE Evaluation of the nectin-2 and nectin-4 protein and mRNA expression levels is aimed in this study, with concerning diagnostic and predictive value in breast cancer patients. METHODS Sixty patients with pathologically and radiologically verified breast cancer who were treated at the Istanbul University, Institute of Oncology, between 2017 and 2018 are included in the study. Circulating nectin-2 and nectin-4 protein levels were evaluated by solid-phase enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (Abbkine Scientific Co., Ltd.). For analyzing nectin-2- and nectin-4-specific mRNA in sera of the patients, circulating cell-free RNA was extracted from serum using a monophasic phenol and guanidine thiocyanate solution (Roche, Mannheim, Germany), according to the manufacturer’s protocol. RESULTS The median age of patients was 53 years. The mean tumor size was 30.21±17.32 mm. Forty-one patients were in the luminal group. Lymph node involvement was detected in 25 patients. The nectin-4 expression level was statistically significantly higher in those with Ki-67 ?30 and those with positive distant metastasis compared to the other group. In addition, nectin-2 expression was higher in patients with Grade 3 tumors. CONCLUSION High levels of nectin-2 and nectin-4 expression in the serum of patients correlate with poor disease characteristics of breast cancer.