Vol. 7, Issue 3, Part B (2024)

Background: Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed malignant disease and the leading cause of cancer death among females, with approximately 2.3 million new cases and 685,000 deaths worldwide. Recent studies indicate that Melanoma-associated gene C2 (MAGEC2) expression is linked to poor prognosis, aggressive clinical course, chemotherapy resistance, and poor outcomes in breast cancer patients. MAGEC2, part of the MAGE family on the X chromosome, interacts with STAT3 in tumor cells, preventing its degradation and enhancing transcriptional activity. Objective Evaluation of the prognostic role of MAGEC2 expression in women with breast cancers and its association with other prognostic factors.

Method: This study examined 46 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded breast cancer tissue blocks of varying grades and histopathological features. Hematoxylin and eosin staining assessed histopathological diagnosis, while polyclonal antibody for MAGEC2 was used for immunohistochemical staining. MAGEC2 expression was scored by staining intensity (0-3) and percentage (0-100%), with semiquantitative scores indicating no expression (-ve), mild (+1), moderate (+2), and high expression (+3).

Results: In this study of 46 invasive breast cancer cases, 23.9% had (3+) MAGEC2 expression, 47.8% had (2+), 23.9% had (1+), and 4.4% had no expression. MAGEC2 over-expression was significantly associated with higher tumor grade (p=0.019), but not with other clinicopathological parameters like patient age, histology type, or hormonal receptor status (PR, ER, HER-2).

Conclusion: MAGEC2 according to these results proves to be a powerful marker in predicting the prognosis of breast cancer. With a further work up and with more studies, it may be of routine use in the near future.