Immunohistochemical Expression of Nanog and Its Relation with Clinicopathologic Characteristics in Breast Ductal Carcinoma

Background: Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are a group of tumor cells with self-renewal property and differentiation potential. CSCs play a crucial role in malignant progression of several types of tumors. However, what is still controversial is the clinicopathological relationship between Nanog marker and its prognostic value in the patients with breast cancer. The expression of Nanog in the patients with breast cancer and its correlation with clinicopathological prognostic factors was explored in the present study. Methods: A sample of 120 breast cancer tissues was obtained from the patients who referred to Imam Khomeini Hospital in Sari city, Iran during January 2012 and December 2016. The associations between Nanog expression and clinicopathological factors were analyzed based on immunohistochemical analysis. Results: It was found that 67 (55.8%) patients had Nanog expression, and high expression rate was observed in 24 (36%) cases (staining index ≥3). Moreover, there was a statistically significant relationship between Nanog expression and clinicopathological factors, including tumor grade (p = 0.001), lymph node metastasis (p = 0.01), and the stage of the disease (p = 0.003). Conclusion: Findings of the study indicate that Nanog is a biomarker for prognostic prediction in patients with breast cancer. However, further studies of Nanog are suggested to provide novel therapeutic targets for curing breast cancer.