PTK7 expression in triple-negative breast cancer.

Protein tyrosine kinase-7 (PTK7) plays an important role in cancer. Our aim was to evaluate PTK7 in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). PTK7 Expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry (IHC) in 133 patients with TNBC. Expression levels were correlated with clinicopathological features and survival, taking chemotherapy into account. Positive PTK7 expression was detected in 28.6% of tumors. In the total population, no significant difference was detected in disease-free survival (DFS) or overall survival (OS) related to PTK7 status. However, in patients treated by chemotherapy, patients with PTK7-negative tumors seemed to have better DFS than those with PTK7-positive tumors, particularly for patients treated with only anthracycline-therapy drugs. In patients receiving other chemotherapy regimens, PTK7 status had no significant impact on DFS or OS. Our results support earlier findings that PTK7 may be associated with resistance to anthracycline-based chemotherapy.