Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
High KLF4 protein found in dog mammary cancer cells
By Chu, Pei-Yi et al.·Published in BMC veterinary research·2011·Department and Graduate Institute of Veterinary Medicine·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Elevated Krüppel-like factor 4 transcription factor in canine mammary carcinoma.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study found that high levels of a protein called KLF4 in dogs with mammary tumors (breast cancer) are linked to more aggressive cancer and shorter survival times. Out of 142 dogs with mammary tumors, 75 were diagnosed with carcinoma, and 44 of those showed high KLF4 expression. This high expression was not found in benign tumors and was associated with more severe cancer stages and poorer outcomes. Understanding KLF4's role could help veterinarians assess the severity of mammary tumors in dogs and guide treatment options.
People also search for: dog mammary tumor treatment · canine breast cancer prognosis · high KLF4 in dog cancer
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Krüppel-like factors (KLFs) are critical regulators of biological and physiological systems and have been extensively studied for their roles in cell proliferation, differentiation and survival in the context of cancer. Among the KLFs, KLF4 is highly expressed in human breast cancers and plays an oncogenic role. The present study examined the expression of KLF4 and assessed its significance in canine mammary carcinoma. RESULTS: Immunohistochemistry was employed to investigate the expression of KLF4 in 142 cases of canine mammary tumor. 75 of the 142 (52.8%) cases were histologically confirmed as mammary carcinoma. Quantification of immunohistochemistry was carried out using Quick score which multiply the staining intensity by the percentage of positive cells. High KLF4 expression was identified in 44 of the 75 (59%) dogs with mammary carcinoma and none in the benign cases. High KLF4 expression occurred only in the tumor cells and not the adjacent normal cells in mammary carcinoma (P < 0.001). Moreover, the high expression level of KLF4 expression was statistically associated with poor grade, late stage, histological subtypes of simple and complex carcinoma, and shorter 24-month survival. The Kaplan-Meier survival analysis also indicated that dogs with high nuclear KLF4 expression had a significantly shorter survival than those with low/moderate KLF4 expression (P = 0.011). CONCLUSIONS: KLF4 is highly and frequently expressed in canine mammary carcinoma and correlates with a more aggressive phenotype.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21978458/