Expression of LC3B and FIP200/Atg17 in brain metastases of breast cancer.

Background: Macroautophagy/autophagy is considered to play key roles in tumor cell evasion of therapy and establishment of metastases in breast cancer. High expression of LC3, a residual autophagy marker, in primary breast tumors has been associated with metastatic disease and poor outcome. FIP200/Atg17, a multi-functional pro-survival molecule required for autophagy, has been implicated in brain metastases in experimental models.

The expression of the cytoskeletal focal adhesion protein paxillin in breast cancer correlates with HER2 overexpression and may help predict response to chemotherapy: a retrospective immunohistochemical study.

Paxillin, a cytoskeletal focal adhesion adaptor protein, has been shown to be transcriptionally up-regulated and phosphorylated by human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2) signaling in vitro. Paxillin expression may also correlate with HER2 amplification in breast cancer patients. In the current study, we sought to explore the relationship further between paxillin expression and clinicopathologic features and clinical outcome in breast cancer.