Key clinical point: Low vs high expression of tumor-specific thyroid hormone receptor alpha-2 (THRα-2) was associated with unfavorable tumor characteristics and higher breast cancer-specific mortality in women with invasive breast cancer.
Major finding: Low vs high THRα-2 expression was associated with estrogen receptor (ER) negativity (odds ratio [OR], 4.04; 95% CI, 2.28-7.15), tumor size of >20-50 mm (OR, 2.20; 95% CI, 1.39-3.49), and high risk for breast cancer-specific mortality in the overall population (hazard ratio [HR], 1.38; 95% CI, 0.96-1.99) and among women with ER-positive tumors (adjusted HR, 1.31; 95% CI, 1.01-1.73).
Study details: Findings are from a follow-up of a population-based cohort, the Malmö Diet and Cancer Study consisting of 17,035 women, of which 654 women with invasive breast cancer and evaluable tumor tissue were included in the present study.
Disclosures: This study was funded by the Swedish Cancer Society, Gunnar Nilsson Cancer Foundation, Ernhold Lundström Foundation, and other sources. The authors declared no conflict of interests.
Source: Sandsveden M et al. Breast Cancer Res. 2021 Dec 20. doi: 10.1186/s13058-021-01496-7 .