title: Prognostic Relevance of Tn Expression in Breast Cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND: Abnormal glycosylation patterns have been recognized as a featureof carcinomaassociated mucins. The expression of the Tn antigen in breast cancer tissue was investigated to assess its prognostic relevance. METHODS: Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded materials from 219 patients with breast cancer were used. Immunohistochemical staining of the Tn antigen was retrospectively investigated and a lesion staining 10% or more was considered positive RESULTS: Tn antigen expression was present in 99 (45%) of 219 lesions. There were no correlations between Tn antigen expression and mean patient age, nodal status, estrogen receptor status, or menopausal status, but there was a slightly significant association between Tn and tumor size. Patients negative for the Tn antigen had a significantly better survival rate than those who were positive. Multivariate analysis also indicated that Tn expression correlated significantly with overall survival in addition to nodal status and tumor size. CONCLUSION: Tn expression was a significant prognostic factor in breast cancer, but the significance was lost on multivariate analysis. The biological implication of Tn expression in breast cancer needs further investigation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery II, Fukuchima Medical University School of Medicine, 1 Hikarigaoka, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan.
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tsuchiya
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kanno
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kawaguchi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Endo
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ohtake
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kimijima