Estrogen receptor and HER2/neu status affect epigenetic differences of tumor-related genes in primary breast tumors

Table 11 Comparison of primary tumor gene methylation status relative to double-negative breast cancers versus cancers expressing either ER or HER2/neu

Gene	Double negative (n = 37)		Either ER positive or HER2/neu positive (n = 70)		P value^a
	n	%	n	%
RASSF1A	18	47%	64	91%	<0.0001
CCND2	16	43%	43	61%	NS
GSTP1	0	0%	22	31%	<0.0001
TWIST	7	19%	33	47%	0.0031
APC	8	22%	35	50%	0.0035
NES1	8	22%	21	30%	NS
RARβ2	10	27%	21	30%	NS
CDH1	33	89%	55	79%	NS

^aχ² test or Fisher's exact test was used appropriately. ER, estrogen receptor; NS, not significant; HER, human epidermal growth factor.

ISSN: 1465-542X