High expression of Wilms' tumor suppressor gene predicts poor prognosis in breast cancer patients

Purpose: The prognostic significance of the Wilms' tumor suppressor gene (WTI) mRNA expression was evaluated in patients with invasive breast cancer. Experimental Design: WTI mRNA expression in tumor tissues (n = 99) was examined by a quantitative, real-time PCR assay. Results: No significant association was observed between WTI mRNA levels and clinicopathological parameters such as menopausal status, tumor size, lymph node status, histological grade, and estrogen receptor status. Five-year disease-free survival rate of patients with high WTI mRNA levels (62.6%) was significantly (P < 0.05) poorer than those with low WTI mRNA levels (77.2%). Lymph node metastasis (P < 0.05), high histological grade (P < 0.01), and estrogen receptor negativity (P < 0.05) were also significantly associated with poor prognosis, respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed that WTI mRNA levels were a significant prognostic factor, independent of the other conventional prognostic factors. Conclusions: These results suggest that measurement of WTI mRNA levels in tumor tissues might be useful as a new prognostic factor in breast cancer patients.