Prognostic value of ephrin B receptors in breast cancer: An online survival analysis using the microarray data of 3,554 patients

The roles of Ephrin B (EphB) receptors in cancer are relatively unknown as these receptors are associated with complex signaling pathways. A limited number of studies have investigated the association between EphB receptors and prognosis. Using the Kaplan-Meier plotter database, the present study investigated the associations between the mRNA expression levels of five EphB receptors and the outcomes of 3,554 patients with breast cancer who had been followed-up for 20 years. Hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated to assess the relative risk of survival. The results demonstrated that high mRNA expression levels of EphB2 (HR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.66–0.84; P=2.1×10-6), EphB4 (HR, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.72–0.93; P=0.0023) and EphB6 (HR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.61–0.78; P=3×10-9) were significantly associated with improved survival, while a high mRNA expression level of EphB3 (HR, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.01–1.28; P=0.029) was associated with worse survival for patients with breast cancer. High expression levels of all EphB receptors, including EphB1 (HR, 1.4; 95% CI, 1.02–1.94; P=0.039), EphB2 (HR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.07–1.67; P=0.011), EphB3 (HR, 1.39; 95% CI, 1.11–1.73, P=0.0038), EphB4 (HR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.06–1.67; P=0.013) and EphB6 (HR, 1.32; 95% CI, 1.05–1.65; P=0.016), were associated with an increased risk of mortality in patients with lymph-node-positive breast cancer. High mRNA expression levels of EphB1 were not associated with survival for all patients with breast cancer (HR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.72–1.01; P=0.058). The results of the present suggested that EphB receptors may be useful as prognostic biomarkers of breast cancer.