The prognostic relevance of p53 and Ki-67 to chemotherapy sensitivity and prognosis in triple-negative breast cancer

Background: This study aimed to explore the prognostic function of p53 and Ki-67 protein expression in chemotherapy sensitivity and prognosis in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Methods: Patients who were confirmed with TNBC in Wenzhou Geriatric Hospital and Wenzhou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine (including the Oncology Department, Tumor Surgery Department, and Gynecology Department) between January 2006 and February 2018 were included in this study. The expression of p53 and Ki-67 detected by immunohistochemistry, the rate of recurrence, and the objective curative effect evaluation at the end of the first-line rescue treatment were recorded for all patients. Results: The patients were followed up to August 2020, and the median follow-up time was 9 years and 4 months. A total of 285 patients with TNBC were enrolled in the study. The patients ranged in age from 19 to 76 years old, with an average age of 53 years. The overall recurrence rate among the patients was 31.58%. The majority of cases (68.07%) were pathological stage I. The overall positive expression rates of Ki-67 and p53 were 53.33% and 56.84%, respectively. In the TNBC recurrence group, the positive rates of p53 and Ki-67 were 71.11% and 82.22%, respectively, which were significantly higher than those in the non-recurrence group. The positive rates of p53 and Ki-67 in the chemosensitive group were 96.05% and 92.11%, respectively, which were significantly higher than those in the non-chemosensitive group. Among all the TNBC patients, 128 patients had positive expression of both p53 and Ki-67, and 101 patients had negative expression of both p53 and Ki-67. The chemosensitivity rate of TNBC patients with positive expression of both Ki-67 and p53 was 98.53%, and that of TNBC patients with negative expression of both Ki-67 and p53 was 0.00%. The difference was statistically significant. The recurrence rate in TNBC patients with positive expression of both Ki-67 and p53 was 53.13%, and that in patients with negative expression of both Ki-67 and p53 was 6.93%. The difference was statistically significant. Conclusions: The expression of p53 and Ki-67 had prognostic relevance to chemotherapy sensitivity and prognosis in TNBC patients.