Abstract
Background:
The molecular subtyping of breast cancer is related to estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). The present study aimed to systematically analyze the expression, function, and prognostic value of ER, PR, HER2, and their prevalence in different ethnic groups and among Bangladeshi breast cancer (BC) patients.
Method:
This study included 25 BC patients and 25 healthy controls, aged between 25 and 70 years. The study characteristics were compared using the ANOVA and Chi-square tests. Also, the multi-Omics dataset of 775 BC patients from TCGA was analyzed for ER, PR, and HER2 in breast cancer subtypes and compared among different ethnicities.
Results:
For most BD breast cancer cases, the age at diagnosis was ⩾40 years, had only a histopathological diagnosis (
Conclusion:
A significant association was found between BC subtypes with different ethnicities and Bangladeshi women and these findings might aid in the prevention, management, and raising of awareness against risk factors in the near future.
Keywords
Background
Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer in women and is a leading cause of death, worldwide. In 2020, there were 2.3 million women diagnosed with breast cancer and 685,000 deaths occurred globally.1,2 Almost half of the incidence (45.4%) and mortality (50.6%) cases were observed in Asia.3,4 Breast cancer is not a transmissible disease. The female gender is the strongest risk factor in association with breast cancer. In almost half of breast cancer incidences, women have no other potential risk factor other than gender (female) and age (over 40 years). Some other factors like obesity, alcohol consumption, family history of breast cancer, radiation exposure, reproductive history, such as age that menstrual periods began and age at first pregnancy, tobacco use, and postmenopausal hormone therapy increase the risk of breast cancer.5 -11
Most breast cancer arises in the epithelium cells of the ducts (85%) or lobules (15%) tissues in the breast. If the cancerous growth remains confined to the duct or lobule causes no symptoms and has minimal potential for spreading (metastasis). However, if, over time, the cancers spread and invade the surrounding breast tissue (invasive breast cancer), and then progress to the lymph nodes (regional metastasis) or other organs in the body (distant metastasis), could be life-threatening. Most of the women who die from breast cancer are because of widespread metastasis.2,6,7 Breast cancer treatment can be highly effective, with survival probabilities of 90% or higher, especially when the disease is identified early. Treatment generally consists of a combination of surgery, radiation therapy, and anti-cancer medication (endocrine hormonal therapy, chemotherapy, and/or targeted biologic therapy, antibodies) to control, treat and/or reduce the risk of cancer spreading (metastasis).2,5,6
Medical treatments for breast cancer are based on the molecular subtyping of the cancers: depending on the expression (+) or not (−) of the 3 essential receptor proteins: estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2).2,9 Cancer that expresses the ER and/or PR, is likely to respond to hormone therapies. Breast cancers may independently overexpress the HER2 oncogene. These HER2-enriched cancers are amenable to treatment with targeted biological agents. The major subtypes based on hormonal receptors and progressions are Luminal A, Luminal B, HER2 positive, and Basal type or Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC).2,12 -15 As the treatment process relies heavily on these molecular subtypes of breast cancer, the prevalence of the hormonal receptors in various ethnic groups across the globe may indicate or reveal which subtypes of breast cancer are more prevalent in a specific ethnic community. Such studies had been conducted before for different races.15 -18 The hormone receptors are used clinically for diagnosis and treatment and the prevalence may vary for every race.18 -21
By 2040, the incidence and mortality of breast cancer patients will increase globally, dominantly in Asia and Bangladesh. 22 The molecular understanding of breast cancer requires characterizing its genetic alterations like mutations, copy number variations, and structural changes in tumor DNA that might cause changes in transcription, protein activity, and epigenetic regulations. The present study aimed to systematically analyze the expression, function, and prognostic value of ER, PR, and HER2 in different breast cancer subtypes. The main objective was to assess the prevalence of the hormone receptors (ER, PR), and epidermal growth factor receptor (HER2) in Bangladeshi BC patients by following through with treatment, diagnosis, demographic, and clinical data analysis. To compare the breast cancer subtypes in different races (Caucasian, African, and Asian) multi-omics data were retrieved from TCGA (The Cancer Genome Atlas) and cBioPortal19 -21,23 -26 and evaluated through bioinformatics analysis using various tools and databases like cBioPortal, GEPIA2, GISTIC, HPA, PDB, etc. Also, conducting an in-detailed evaluation of the hormone receptors ER, PR, and epidermal growth factor receptor HER2 (levels of mRNA, protein, mRNA vs protein expression, and mutual exclusivity analysis) for the Asian population. The goal was to interrelate genomic subtype data with clinical features to understand how these might affect clinically relevant phenotypes such as survival. In particular, assessing the link between survival and expression of the ER, PR, and HER2 receptors in breast cancer to validate their prognostic relevance in overall survival in different ethnicity. This study is also an attempt to facilitate better management, diagnosis and treatment for Bangladeshi women.
Methods
Cancer informatics analysis
The cBio Cancer Genomics Portal (cBioPortal), an online platform for cancer genomics data (http://www.cbioportal.org) was used to retrieve and analyze multi-omics data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA, Pan-Cancer).20,21,23 -26,28,29 A total of 24 datasets of Breast cancer (BC) from cBioPortal were screened for inclusion based on the following criteria: female, presence of race/ethnicity data, information about cancer subtypes based on estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 status (HER2). After screening, the cBioPortal breast invasive carcinoma dataset (TCGA, Pan-Cancer Atlas) containing 1084 samples was selected for further investigation.30 -36
Results and Discussion
Anthropometric and clinicopathological characteristics data of the Bangladeshi study participants.
Data are expressed as number (%), mean ± standard deviation (SD).
Study characteristics of Bangladeshi breast cancer patients’ data.
Data are expressed as number (%), mean ± standard deviation (SD).

Flow chart of the data screening, selection, and retrieval of breast invasive carcinoma from TCGA, Pan-Cancer Atlas.
Fraction genome alteration and mutation count analysis of the BC subtypes in different races
The mRNA expression data from cBioPortal of Breast Invasive Carcinoma (n = 775), stratified by different ethnicity/race categories, were analyzed for frequency of gene alterations (including mutations, deletions, copy number gains, and amplifications) in the hormone receptor genes of ER (

ER, PR, and HER2 mRNA expression data stratified by different ethnicity/race categories. (A) Fraction genome altered versus mutation count correlation plot. (B) Bar plot of alteration event frequency (%) for the genetic subtypes of ER, PR, and HER2 receptors in different races. (C) Putative copy number alterations from GISTIC.

ER, PR, and HER2 expression analysis in TCGA Tumor/Normal GTEx expression datasets. (A) Fraction genome altered in different races by BC subtypes, (B) compared the expression status of ER, PR, and HER2 in the TCGA breast cancer (BC) dataset with the corresponding normal tissues of the GTEx datasets, and (C) correlation analysis plot of ER, PR, and HER2 expression in TCGA. A P-value <.05 was considered significant.
(A) Breast cancer subtypes in different ethnicity and Bangladeshi women. (B) Mutual exclusivity data between ER, PR, and HER2 receptors.
The
To get further insights into the up-regulated and amplified genes, we compared and evaluated the expression data of ER, PR, and HER2 between the cases and controls. The box plot of tumor/normal expression analyses of the TCGA GTEx dataset of the hormonal regulator genes ER (

Survival analysis outcome in patients by breast cancer (BC) subtypes. (A) The stack bar plot of breast cancer (BC) subtypes expression data in different races with
Finally, to evaluate the clinical outcome with patient prognosis, the Kaplan-Meier plots of survival analyses of overall survival (OS) differences in patients of BC subtypes compared with Luminal A indicated the lower median months (95% CI) for patients with Luminal B [95% CI: 129.57 (81.63-NA), log-rank
Survival analysis data of breast cancer subtypes by cBioPortal.

(A) Tissue image differences in patients with different subtypes by immunohistochemistry (IHC). (B) Correlation analysis between mRNA expression, RSEM and protein expression, RPPA data of ER, PR, and HER2 receptors in Asian ethnicity.
Finally, we assessed the copy number alteration versus mRNA expression for the ER, PR, and HER2 receptors, their 3D structure, and mutation/variation data (SNPs) in Asian population samples from cBioPortal. The results of CNA versus mRNA expression of the BC subtype in the Asian population indicated that the mRNA expression of ER and PR was increased and showed shallow deletion while HER2 receptor expression showed gain and amplification (Figure 6A). The 3D structure of ER, PR, and HER2 with mutations and their single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were evaluated to assess amino acid changes in particular positions for hormone receptors in BC patients (Figure 6B) (Supplemental File 5).

(A) Box plot for putative copy number alteration (CNA) versus mRNA expression of ER, PR, and HER2 in Asian ethnicity from GISTIC. (B) 3D structure of ER, PR, and HER2 with mutations (Green: missense; Blue: truncated; Brown: inframe; Orange: spliced; and Pink: fusion) and some single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs).
Conclusion
In this study, we used a comprehensive computational approach, to evaluate genomic alterations in tumor samples and assess their functional importance in breast cancer subtypes. Results from this study indicated a significant association between BC subtypes and ethnicity. Taken together, all data from literature mining, statistical, and cancer informatics analysis indicated that Luminal B and HER2 enriched, the 2 more aggressive BC subtypes were most prevalent in Asians compared to Caucasians. However, the Bangladeshi BC patients’ data indicated a significantly higher frequency of TNBC and lower Luminal A subtypes in comparison to the Asian population. This could be due to the small sample size and further investigations with a larger dataset are crucial to validate breast cancer subtype association. Nevertheless, the initial findings from this study suggested a difference in the prevalence of BC subtypes among Bangladeshi women. In the future, conducting more population-based studies of larger sample sizes would provide further insights into genetic risk factors and evidence regarding BC subtypes in Asian and Bangladeshi women. Major global improvements in breast cancer can result from implementing what we already know will work. And early detection and treatment have proven successful in high-income countries and should be applied in countries with limited resources like Bangladesh. Thus, by understanding the importance of early detection and treatment, more women would be encouraged to consult medical practitioners when breast cancer is first suspected, and before any further cancer progression. We believe results from this study might aid in the prevention, management, and raising of awareness against the specific risk factors among Bangladeshi women in near future.
Supplemental Material
sj-docx-1-cix-10.1177_11769351221148584 – Supplemental material for Prevalence of Breast Cancer Subtypes Among Different Ethnicities and Bangladeshi Women: Demographic, Clinicopathological, and Integrated Cancer Informatics Analysis
Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-cix-10.1177_11769351221148584 for Prevalence of Breast Cancer Subtypes Among Different Ethnicities and Bangladeshi Women: Demographic, Clinicopathological, and Integrated Cancer Informatics Analysis by Diganta Islam, Md. Shihabul Islam, Sanjida Islam Dorin and Jesmin in Cancer Informatics
Supplemental Material
sj-docx-2-cix-10.1177_11769351221148584 – Supplemental material for Prevalence of Breast Cancer Subtypes Among Different Ethnicities and Bangladeshi Women: Demographic, Clinicopathological, and Integrated Cancer Informatics Analysis
Supplemental material, sj-docx-2-cix-10.1177_11769351221148584 for Prevalence of Breast Cancer Subtypes Among Different Ethnicities and Bangladeshi Women: Demographic, Clinicopathological, and Integrated Cancer Informatics Analysis by Diganta Islam, Md. Shihabul Islam, Sanjida Islam Dorin and Jesmin in Cancer Informatics
Supplemental Material
sj-docx-3-cix-10.1177_11769351221148584 – Supplemental material for Prevalence of Breast Cancer Subtypes Among Different Ethnicities and Bangladeshi Women: Demographic, Clinicopathological, and Integrated Cancer Informatics Analysis
Supplemental material, sj-docx-3-cix-10.1177_11769351221148584 for Prevalence of Breast Cancer Subtypes Among Different Ethnicities and Bangladeshi Women: Demographic, Clinicopathological, and Integrated Cancer Informatics Analysis by Diganta Islam, Md. Shihabul Islam, Sanjida Islam Dorin and Jesmin in Cancer Informatics
Supplemental Material
sj-docx-4-cix-10.1177_11769351221148584 – Supplemental material for Prevalence of Breast Cancer Subtypes Among Different Ethnicities and Bangladeshi Women: Demographic, Clinicopathological, and Integrated Cancer Informatics Analysis
Supplemental material, sj-docx-4-cix-10.1177_11769351221148584 for Prevalence of Breast Cancer Subtypes Among Different Ethnicities and Bangladeshi Women: Demographic, Clinicopathological, and Integrated Cancer Informatics Analysis by Diganta Islam, Md. Shihabul Islam, Sanjida Islam Dorin and Jesmin in Cancer Informatics
Supplemental Material
sj-docx-5-cix-10.1177_11769351221148584 – Supplemental material for Prevalence of Breast Cancer Subtypes Among Different Ethnicities and Bangladeshi Women: Demographic, Clinicopathological, and Integrated Cancer Informatics Analysis
Supplemental material, sj-docx-5-cix-10.1177_11769351221148584 for Prevalence of Breast Cancer Subtypes Among Different Ethnicities and Bangladeshi Women: Demographic, Clinicopathological, and Integrated Cancer Informatics Analysis by Diganta Islam, Md. Shihabul Islam, Sanjida Islam Dorin and Jesmin in Cancer Informatics
Footnotes
Funding:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The Ministry of Science & Technology (MOST), Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh for supporting DI (NST Fellowship 39.012.002.01,03.021.2014-09/260) to conduct this research work.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests:
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Authors’ Contributions
Jesmin conceptually designed the research; MSI, SID, and DI collected data and screened data; MSI and DI analyzed the data; Jesmin, MSI, and DI validate the interpretation and drafted and revised the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Supplemental Material
Supplemental material for this article is available online.
References
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