Downregulated METTL14 Expression Correlates with Breast Cancer Tumor Grade and Molecular Classification
Table 2
Association of METTL14 expression with clinicopathological parameters in breast cancer patients.
Parameters
No. of patients
High METTL14 expression, (%)
value
Age (years)
≤35
22
7 (31.8%)
0.043
>35
376
203 (54.0%)
Tumor size (cm)
≤2
176
99 (56.3%)
0.365
2–5
201
102 (50.7%)
>5
21
9 (42.9%)
Lymph node metastases
No
203
99 (48.8%)
0.103
Yes
195
111 (56.9%)
Tumor grade
I–II
271
174 (64.2%)
<0.001
III
127
36 (28.3%)
Tumor stage
I
103
59 (57.3%)
0.552
II
201
102 (50.7%)
III
94
49 (52.1%)
IV
0
0 (0.00)
Estrogen receptor
Negative
168
48 (28.6%)
<0.001
Positive
230
162 (70.4%)
Progesterone receptor
Negative
209
82 (39.2%)
<0.001
Positive
189
128 (67.7%)
HER2 expression
Negative (0–1+)
191
93 (48.7%)
0.095
Equivocal (2+)
109
67 (61.5%)
Positive (3+)
98
50 (51.0%)
Molecular classification
Luminal A
137
104 (75.9%)
<0.001
Luminal B
97
59 (60.8%)
HER2-enriched
67
29 (43.3%)
TNBC
97
18 (18.6%)
High METTL14 expression was defined as a nuclear staining intensity of positive invasive cancer cells of 2 or 3 [17]. Abbreviations: HER2: human epidermal growth factor receptor 2; TNBC: triple-negative breast cancer.
