Transmembrane protein 92 performs a tumor-promoting function in breast carcinoma by contributing to the cell growth, invasion, migration and epithelial-mesenchymal transition.

OBJECTIVE: We try to examine the role of transmembrane protein 92 (TMEM92) in the progression of breast carcinoma (BC) and assess its prognostic value. Moreover, the effects of TMEM92 on BC cell phenotypes was explored. METHODS: The levels of TMEM92 in BC tissues were evaluated using bioinformatics analysis according to the Oncomine and The Cancer Genome Atlas databases. mRNA levels of TMEM92 in BC cells were measured by qRT-PCR. Kaplan-Meier methods together with log-rank tests were used to conduct survival analysis, and chi-square tests were employed to assess the relationship between TMEM92 levels and clinicopathological parameters. Cox regression analysis was carried out to identify the independent prognosticators. Small interference RNA targeted to TMEM92 and plasmid vectors pcDNA3.1-TMEM92 were respectively used to silence and over-express TMEM92. Protein levels of molecules in this study were tested by western blot. Cell viability, invasiveness and motility of BC cells were determined by cell counting kit 8, clone formation assay and Transwell assay, appropriately. RESULTS: The data showed that TMEM92 was upregulated in BC tissues or cells in comparison with control. High expression of TMEM92 was notably correlated with stage and metastasis, and led to a poor overall survival. Moreover, cox multivariate analysis model demonstrated that TMEM92 can be seen as an independent prognostic factor. Functional experiments demonstrated that downregulation of TMEM92 showed a significantly inhibitory effect on MDA-MB-231 cell viability, invasiveness and motility, whereas overexpression of TMEM92 could promote the changes of these phenotypes. Furthermore, western blot analysis revealed that depletion of TMEM92 inactivated the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process with raised E-cadherin protein levels, while declined N-cadherin, Vimentin and Snail levels. However, enhancement of TMEM92 showed the opposite outcomes on these EMT-related markers. CONCLUSION: TMEM92 had an independent prognostic value for BC patients, and might act as an oncogene to facilitate tumor cells growth, invasiveness and motility by modulating the EMT relative proteins.

The benefits of expressive writing among newly diagnosed mainland Chinese breast cancer patients.

The study aimed to evaluate the effects of an expressive writing intervention on quality of life (QoL) among mainland Chinese breast cancer patients. A total of 118 Chinese breast cancer patients were randomly assigned to one of four groups: a cancer-facts writing condition (CTL group), an emotional disclosure writing condition (EMO group), a self-regulation writing condition (SR group), or a neutral control condition with no writing tasks (CON group). QoL was assessed by FACT-B at baseline, 3-, and 6-month follow-ups. A repeated measure analysis of variance revealed significant effects of time (F = 13.9, P < 0.001, η2 = 0.20) and the time × group interaction (F = 3.5, P < 0.01, η2 = 0.08) on QoL. Residualized change models showed that the CTL, EMO and SR groups reported higher levels of QoL than the CON group at the 6-month follow-up. The EMO group had a higher level of QoL than the SR group. The CTL group had higher level of physical well-being compared to the SR group. Mainland Chinese breast cancer patients shortly after diagnosis benefit from expressive writing. They benefited more from cancer-facts and emotional disclosure compared to self-regulation. The study indicated that the impact of expressive writing may differ due to stage of cancer survivorship, social, and cultural context.

The detrimental effects of ambivalence over emotional expression on well-being among Mainland Chinese breast cancer patients: Mediating role of perceived social support.

OBJECTIVE: Recent research has documented the harmful effects of ambivalence over emotional expression (AEE) on psychological well-being, but few studies to date have examined AEE among Mainland Chinese breast cancer patients, an ethnic group that prioritizes emotion restraint to preserve social harmony. The present study examined the relationship between AEE and well-being (viz, anxious and depressive symptoms and quality of life) and evaluated perceived social support as a potential mediator of this relationship in a sample of Mainland Chinese breast cancer patients. METHODS: Three hundred twenty-seven Chinese breast cancer patients recruited from Weifang, China, completed a self-reported questionnaire containing the Ambivalence over Emotional Expression Questionnaire (AEQ), the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Scale (MOS-SSS), the Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), the Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS), and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast (FACT-B). RESULTS: Overall, Mainland Chinese breast cancer patients endorsed high levels of AEE. A series of mediation analyses revealed perceived social support served as a partial mediator of the relationship between AEE and well-being. Specifically, AEE was associated with lower perceived social support (ßs = -.13, P < .001), which in turn, was associated with greater anxious symptoms (ß = .23, P < .001), depressive symptoms (ß = .20, P < .001) and lower quality of life (ß = -.30, P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: The harmful relationship between AEE and well-being is partially explained by reduced social support. Psychosocial interventions that facilitate emotional disclosure without harming social harmony may be culturally effective for mainland Chinese breast cancer patients.