Osteopontin and vasculogenic mimicry formation are associated with response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in advanced breast cancer

Figures & data

Figure 1 Representative immunohistochemical staining of OPN in breast cancer.

Notes: (A) Positive OPN immunostaining in invasive breast cancer; the OPN expression patterns were cytoplasmic staining. (B) Negative immunostaining of OPN in breast cancer. (C) VM in breast cancer tissue (black arrow, VM channels formed by tumor cells). (D) Typical blood vessels with brown CD31⁺ staining (black arrow). Original magnification, 200×.
Abbreviations: OPN, osteopontin; VM, vasculogenic mimicry.

Table 1 Expression of OPN in 200 patients with breast carcinoma before NACT

Characteristics	N	Expression of OPN		P-value
		Positive (n=80)	Negative (n=120)
Age (years)				χ^2=1.47 P>0.05
<45	98	35	58
≥45	102	45	57
Menopausal status				χ^2=1.35 P>0.05
Premenopausal	90	32	58
Postmenopausal	110	48	62
Tumor size (cm)				χ^2=0.00 P>0.05
≤2	9	3	6
>2	191	77	114

Abbreviations: OPN, osteopontin; NACT, neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

Table 2 VM in 200 patients with breast carcinoma before NACT

Characteristics	N	VM		P-value
		Positive (n=60	Negative (n=140)
Age (years)				χ^2=0.03 P>0.05
<45	98	30	68
≥45	102	30	72
Menopausal status				χ^2=0.10 P>0.05
Premenopausal	90	26	64
Postmenopausal	110	34	76
Tumor size (cm)				χ^2=0.02 P>0.05
≤2	9	3	6
>2	191	57	134

Abbreviations: VM, vasculogenic mimicry; NACT, neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

Table 3 Correlation of OPN expression and VM in breast cancer

	VM		P-value
	Positive	Negative
OPN expression +++	29	20	r=0.508 P<0.001
OPN expression ++	17	10
OPN expression +	2	12
OPN expression −	12	108

Abbreviations: OPN, osteopontin; VM, vasculogenic mimicry.

Figure 2 The difference between before and after NACT.

Notes: Pathologic images of breast cancer before (A) and after (B) NACT. Sonographic volume measurement of breast cancer mass before (C) and after (D) NACT. Mammography of breast cancer mass before (E and F) and after (G and H) NACT.
Abbreviation: NACT, neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

Table 4 Clinical and pathologic response rates to NACT

Pathologic response	Breast cancer (n=200)
pCR, n (%)	41 (20.5)
Non-pCR, n (%)	159 (79.5)
Pr, n (%)	148 (74.0)
SD, n (%)	15 (7.5)
PD, n (%)	9 (4.5)
RR (CR + Pr), n (%)	176 (88.0)

Abbreviations: NACT, neoadjuvant chemotherapy; pCR, pathological complete response; Pr, partial response; SD, stable disease; PD, progressive disease; RR, response rate; CR, complete response.

Table 5 Logistic regression analysis of clinicopathologic features correlated with pCR

Factor	pCR		Odds ratio	95% confidence interval	P-value
	+	−
OPN	21	59	1.780	0.891, 3.554	0.102
VM	17	43	1.911	0.937, 3.899	0.075
ER	25	94	1.080	0.535, 2.182	0.829
PR	21	84	0.938	0.472, 1.863	0.854
HER2	13	50	1.012	0.484, 2.117	0.974
Age	22	76	1.265	0.635, 2.517	0.504
Tumor size	3	6	2.013	0.481, 8.418	0.338
Menopausal status	16	74	0.735	0.365, 1.481	0.389

Abbreviations: ER, estrogen receptor; pCR, pathological complete response; PR, progesterone receptor; OPN, osteopontin; VM, vasculogenic mimicry.

Table 6 Correlation between pCR, OPN, and VM

	pCR		χ^2	P-value
	+	−
OPN(+)VM(+)	15	27	7.551	0.006
OPN(+)VM(−)	6	32	0.639	0.424
OPN(−)VM(+)	2	16	0.377	1.070
OPN(−)VM(−)	18	84	1.040	0.308

Abbreviations: pCR, pathological complete response; OPN, osteopontin; VM, vasculogenic mimicry.