title: Prognostic significance of cathepsin-D in patients with breast cancer.
abstract: The expression of the protease cathepsin-D has been evaluated using an immunohistochemical technique with a polyclonal antibody in paraffin-embedded tissue from 359 patients treated between the years 1975-1981 for Stage I and II breast cancer. One hundred and twenty seven patients (35%) have strongly positive, granular staining, 138 (38%) are intermediately stained in the cytoplasm, and in 94 (26%) no staining is observed. There is a strong positive association between expression of cathepsin-D and the presence of tumour in axillary lymph nodes (P < 0.006). Expression of the protease is associated with significantly poorer survival of patients in univariate analysis (P = 0.025); however, this is not independent of other tumour variables.
authors: Department of Surgery, University of Liverpool Medical School, UK.
authors: J H
authors: JH
authors: Winstanley
authors: S J
authors: SJ
authors: Leinster
authors: T G
authors: TG
authors: Cooke
authors: B R
authors: BR
authors: Westley
authors: A M
authors: AM
authors: Platt-Higgins
authors: P S
authors: PS
authors: Rudland
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D002402:Cathepsin D / Q000032:analysis*; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D015588:Observer Variation; D011379:Prognosis
chemical_list: D002402:Cathepsin D