Cancer progression and tumor cell motility are associated with the FGFR4 Arg³⁸⁸ allele

Expression analysis of genes encoding components of the phosphotyrosine signaling system by cDNA array hybridization revealed elevated levels of FGFR4 transcripts in several mammary carcinoma cell lines. In the FGFR4 gene transcript from MDA-MB-453 mammary carcinoma cells, a G to A conversion was discovered that results in the substitution of glycine by arginine at position 388 in the transmembrane domain of the receptor. The Arg³⁸⁸ allele was also found in cell lines derived from a variety of other tumor types as well as in the germ-line of cancer patients and healthy individuals. Analysis of three geographically separated groups indicated that it occurs in approximately 50% of the human population. Investigation of the clinical data of 84 breast cancer patients revealed that homo- or heterozygous carriers of the Arg³⁸⁸ allele had a significantly reduced disease-free survival time (P = 0.01) within a median follow-up of 62 months. Moreover, the FGFR4 Arg³⁸⁸ allele was associated with early lymph node metastasis and advanced tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage in 82 colon cancer patients. Consistent with this finding, MDA-MB-231 mammary tumor cells expressing FGFR4 Arg³⁸⁸ exhibited increased motility relative to cells expressing the FGFR4 Gly³⁸⁸ isotype. Our results support the conclusion that the FGFR4 Arg³⁸⁸ allele represents a determinant that is innocuous in healthy individuals but predisposes cancer patients for significantly accelerated disease progression.