title: Expression of c-erbB-2 in node negative breast cancer does not correlate with estrogen receptor status, predictors of hormone responsiveness, or PCNA expression.
abstract: The aim of this study was to analyse the relationships between the expression of c-erbB-2, estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), Bcl-2 and PCNA in node negative breast cancer. Expression of these markers was determined by HercepTest, by immunohistochemistry and quantified by morphometry in the group of 125 selected breast carcinoma patients with broad spectrum of histological types and grades. Multivariate statistical analysis revealed only relationships between ER/PR, ER/Bcl-2, ER/grade and ER/age. There was not found any significant relationship between c-erbB-2 expression and any other immunohistochemical marker, apocrine metaplasia, histological type or patient characteristics. The same result was found in complete group of tumors as well as in individual groups divided according to histological type. These results indicate that in node negative breast tumors, c-erbB-2 expression does not correlate inversely with hormone receptor status and hormone responsiveness like previously reported metastasising breast cancer and that the prognostic significance of c-erbB-2 expression in these tumors is not clear.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Pathology & Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Palacký University, Olomouc, Czech Republic. kolarz@tunw.upol.cz
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Kolár
authors.forename: P G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zapletalová
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D018270:Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast / Q000473:pathology; D018275:Carcinoma, Lobular / Q000473:pathology; D018276:Carcinoma, Medullary / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008875:Middle Aged; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D018809:Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen / Q000378:metabolism*; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen / Q000032:analysis*; D011980:Receptors, Progesterone / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D018809:Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen; D011980:Receptors, Progesterone