Total Survivin and acetylated Survivin correlate with distinct molecular subtypes of breast cancer

Summary Global gene expression profiling studies led to the recent classification of breast cancer into 4 distinct molecular subtypes including luminal, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 enriched, basal like, and unclassified. Here, we used immunohistochemistry to evaluate expression of the antiapoptotic protein Survivin and its recently described acetylated form, Survivin acetyl129, in normal breast tissue and in 226 primary breast tumors of different molecular subtypes. Correlation of Survivin expression with molecular markers and its impact on patient outcomes were analyzed. Eighty-four percent of basal-like tumors expressed high levels of total Survivin, whereas 52% of luminal tumors expressed high levels of acetylated Survivin ( P < .001). Overall survival (91%) for tumors expressing low levels of total Survivin was better than that for tumors expressing high levels of total Survivin (72%, P = .02), whereas the reverse was true for tumors expressing acetylated Survivin. In hierarchical cluster analysis, total Survivin clustered with basal marker expression, whereas acetylated Survivin clustered with luminal marker expression. In multivariate analysis, high total Survivin expression was an independent predictor of worse overall survival in patients with breast cancer (relative risk, 11; P < .01). These data indicate that high levels of total Survivin predict poor outcome in patients with grade 3 invasive ductal carcinoma and correlate directly with a basal-like phenotype. In contrast, high expression of the acetylated form of the protein associates with a favorable outcome and preferentially correlates with luminal-type tumors. Survivin likely has different functions in distinct breast cancer subtypes, and diagnostic strategies that incorporate immunohistochemical markers that detect both Survivin forms may help better strategize patient risk and direct therapy.