High leukocyte mitochondrial DNA copy number contributes to poor prognosis in breast cancer patients

Background Compelling evidence has indicated a significant association between leukocyte mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNAcn) and prognosis of several malignancies in a cancer-specific manner. However, whether leukocyte mtDNAcn can predict the clinical outcome of breast cancer (BC) patients has not been well investigated. Methods The mtDNA copy number of peripheral blood leukocytes from 661 BC patients was measured using a Multiplex AccuCopy™Kit based on a multiplex fluorescence competitive PCR principle. Kaplan–Meier curves and Cox proportional hazards regression model were applied to investigate the association of mtDNAcn with invasive disease-free survival (iDFS), distant disease-free survival (DDFS), breast cancer special survival (BCSS), and overall survival (OS) of patients. The possible mtDNAcn-environment interactions were also evaluated by the Cox proportional hazard regression models. Results BC patients with higher leukocyte mtDNA-CN exhibited a significantly worse iDFS than those with lower leukocyte mtDNAcn (5-year iDFS: fully-adjusted model: HR = 1.433[95%CI 1.038–1.978], P = 0.028). Interaction analyses showed that mtDNAcn was significantly associated with hormone receptor status (adjusted p for interaction: 5-year BCSS: 0.028, 5-year OS: 0.022), so further analysis was mainly in the HR subgroup. Multivariate Cox regression analysis demonstrated that mtDNAcn was an independent prognostic factor for both BCSS and OS in HR-positive patients (HR+: 5-year BCSS: adjusted HR (aHR) = 2.340[95% CI 1.163–4.708], P = 0.017 and 5-year OS: aHR = 2.446 [95% CI 1.218–4.913], P = 0.011). Conclusions For the first time, our study demonstrated that leukocyte mtDNA copy number might influence the outcome of early-stage breast cancer patients depending on intrinsic tumor subtypes in Chinese women.