RNA-based profiling reveals hormone receptor status in breast cancer, suggesting a reliable alternative to IHC testing.
Key Points
This study aims to evaluate the accuracy of RNA-based ESR1 and PGR expression in predicting hormone receptor status compared to traditional IHC methods.
Analyzed RNA expression of 1,517 genes in 497 breast cancer patients using a targeted RNA sequencing assay.
Compared ESR1 and PGR RNA expression levels to existing ER and PR IHC results from pathology reports.
Utilized cutoffs for transcripts per million (TPM) to optimize prediction accuracy for hormone receptor status.
ESR1 expression was significantly higher in ER+ cases compared to ER- cases with a median difference of 6,841.7 TPM.
PGR expression was also markedly higher in PR+ compared to PR- cases, showing a median difference of 235.1 TPM.
The RNA-based model achieved a sensitivity of 94%, specificity of 88%, and overall accuracy of 92% in detecting HR+ status.