Stanniocalcin-2: A Potential Predictor of Residual Breast Cancer After Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy

Abstract

Compared to patients of pathological complete response (pCR), patients of residual lesion afterwards neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) have worse prognosis and higher distant metastasis. Irrespective, there exists limited data on effective indicators and treatment methods for these patients. In our study, we evaluated the relationship between stanniocalcin-2 (STC2) marker and the prognosis of breast cancer patients of residual lesion after receiving NAC. The relationship between STC2 and patients’ prognosis was evaluated by transcriptome analysis. The impact of the level of STC2 on cell migration, invasion, and proliferation was evaluated at the cellular level. Immunohistochemistry was performed on 293 patients with residual disease after NAC to assess STC2 protein levels. The relationship between STC2 and survival rate was estimated using Cox regression model and Kaplan Meier analysis. The results demonstrated that high level of STC2 significantly inhibited migration, invasion, and proliferation of breast cancer cells. Compared to patients with low STC2, high STC2 were directly proportional to overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) (OS: 86.96 vs. 84.62 months, P = 0.017 DFS: 77.33 vs. 66.95 months, P-value < 0.001). In conclusion, our research suggested that the of level STC2 may be a promising prognostic marker or therapeutic targe for breast cancer patients with residual lesion after NAC.