Table 2.
Association of METTL14 expression with clinicopathological parameters in breast cancer patients.
| Parameters | No. of patients | High METTL14 expression, n (%) | p value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | |||
| ≤35 | 22 | 7 (31.8%) | 0.043 |
| >35 | 376 | 203 (54.0%) | |
| Tumor size (cm) | |||
| ≤2 | 176 | 99 (56.3%) | 0.365 |
| 2–5 | 201 | 102 (50.7%) | |
| >5 | 21 | 9 (42.9%) | |
| Lymph node metastases | |||
| No | 203 | 99 (48.8%) | 0.103 |
| Yes | 195 | 111 (56.9%) | |
| Tumor grade | |||
| I–II | 271 | 174 (64.2%) | <0.001 |
| III | 127 | 36 (28.3%) | |
| Tumor stage | |||
| I | 103 | 59 (57.3%) | 0.552 |
| II | 201 | 102 (50.7%) | |
| III | 94 | 49 (52.1%) | |
| IV | 0 | 0 (0.00) | |
| Estrogen receptor | |||
| Negative | 168 | 48 (28.6%) | <0.001 |
| Positive | 230 | 162 (70.4%) | |
| Progesterone receptor | |||
| Negative | 209 | 82 (39.2%) | <0.001 |
| Positive | 189 | 128 (67.7%) | |
| HER2 expression | |||
| Negative (0–1+) | 191 | 93 (48.7%) | 0.095 |
| Equivocal (2+) | 109 | 67 (61.5%) | |
| Positive (3+) | 98 | 50 (51.0%) | |
| Molecular classification | |||
| Luminal A | 137 | 104 (75.9%) | <0.001 |
| Luminal B | 97 | 59 (60.8%) | |
| HER2-enriched | 67 | 29 (43.3%) | |
| TNBC | 97 | 18 (18.6%) | |
∗High METTL14 expression was defined as a nuclear staining intensity of positive invasive cancer cells of 2 or 3 [17]. Abbreviations: HER2: human epidermal growth factor receptor 2; TNBC: triple-negative breast cancer.