High incidence of microsatellite instability and loss of heterozygosity in three loci in breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy: a prospective study

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to evaluate potential chemotherapy-induced microsatellite instability, loss of heterozygosity, loss of expression in mismatch repair proteins and associations with clinical findings in breast cancer patients, especially resistance to chemotherapy and/or development of other tumors in the four years following chemotherapy treatment. METHODS: A comprehensive study of chemotherapy-related effects with a follow-up period of 48 months post treatment was conducted. A total of 369 peripheral blood samples were collected from 123 de novo breast cancer patients. Microsatellite instability and loss of heterozygosity in five commonly used marker loci (including Tp53-Alu of the tumor suppressor gene TP53) were analyzed in blood samples. Sampling was conducted on three occasions; 4–5 weeks prior to the first chemotherapy session (pre-treatment), to serve as a baseline, followed by two consecutive draws at 12 weeks intervals from the first collection. Mismatch repair protein expression was evaluated in cancer tissues using immunohistochemistry for three mismatch-repair related proteins. RESULTS: A total of 70.7% of the patients showed microsatellite instability for at least one locus, including 18.6% marked as high-positive and 52.1% as low-positive; 35.8% showed loss of heterozygosity in addition to microsatellite instability, while 29.3% exhibited microsatellite stability. The following incidence rates for microsatellite instability and loss of heterozygosity were detected: 39.1% positive for Tp53-Alu, 31.1% for locus Mfd41, and 25.3% for locus Mfd28. A higher occurrence of loss of heterozygosity was noted with alleles 399 and 404 of Tp53-Alu. The mismatch repair protein expression analysis showed that the chemotherapy caused a loss of 29.3% in hMLH1 expression, and 18.7% and 25.2% loss in hMSH2 and P53 expression, respectively. A strong correlation between low or deficient hMSH2 protein expression and occurrence of mismatch repair/loss of heterozygosity events in Mfd41, Tp53-Alu, and Mfd28 was evident. A significant association between mismatch repair/loss of heterozygosity and incidence of secondary tumors was also established. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that microsatellite instability, loss of heterozygosity, and deficiency in mismatch repair may serve as early prognostic factors for potential chemotherapy-related side effects in breast cancer patients.