title: TAG-72 expression and clinical outcome in primary breast cancer.
abstract: Clinical data of 92 patients with primary breast carcinomas previously analysed for the pattern of immunohistochemical expression of three distinct carbohydrate epitopes of the TAG-72 molecule were reviewed. The clinical outcome of the patients after a median follow-up of 66 months was determined in 84 out of 92 patients. Clinicopathological characteristics of the tumours and clinical outcome of the patients were correlated with the TAG-72 epitope expression. TAG-72 was expressed more frequently in patients aged more than 50 years and in tumours of larger size, with lymph nodes metastasis, with low differentiation and with high proliferative activity. A statistical correlation was found with more advanced stages of the disease (35.7% vs 60% in stage I and in stage II-III, respectively, p=0.03). Disease-free survival and overall survival were estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method. The survival of the patients with tumours expressing TAG-72 was not statistically different from that of patients with tumours without TAG-72 expression. These data suggest that TAG-72 expression is associated with clinicopathological parameters of aggressiveness in primary breast cancer, but it does not appear to affect the clinical outcome of the patients.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimenti di Endocrinologia e Oncologia Molecolare e Clinica, Universita <Federico II>, Napoli, Italy.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pizzi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sgambato
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: De Laurentiis
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Limite
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Panico
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pettinato
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Muraro
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tauchmanova
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Galietta
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Bianco
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mariani-Costantini
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Contegiacomo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis
chemical_list: D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D006023:Glycoproteins; C047052:tumor-associated antigen 72