Molecular profiles of invasive mucinous and ductal carcinomas of the breast: a molecular case study.
Expression profiling using cDNA microarrays have redefined the molecular classification of some cancers. The comprehensive genetic analysis also permits the identification of novel pathways that might determine subtle differences in tumor phenotype. Herein, we analyzed the tissues from a patient with bilateral cancer of different histologies in each breast (pure invasive mucinous and pure invasive ductal), thus providing a unique opportunity to assess the expression profiles determined by histology in an isogenic human background. Our results show that the mucinous phenotype is associated with the expression of immunostimulatory and inhibitory genes, consistent with the cellular infiltration of lymphocytes and with the expression of enzymes involved in mucin production. Moreover, the panel of matrix metallo-proteinases are distinctly different between the mucinous and the invasive tumors, suggesting that therapeutic targets to this class of compounds may need to be tailored for the varying histologies. Taken together, these data suggest that expression profiling can be used diagnostically to distinguish individual histologic subclassifications and may guide the selection of target therapeutics.
Pusztai
Lajos
L
Department of Breast Medical Oncology, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA. lpusztai@mdanderson.org
Sotiriou
Christos
C
Buchholz
Thomas A
TA
Meric
Funda
F
Symmans
W Fraser
WF
Esteva
Francisco J
FJ
Sahin
Aysegul
A
Liu
Edison T
ET
Hortobagi
Gabriel N
GN
D002288:Adenocarcinoma, Mucinous / Q000235:genetics*; D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics*; D018270:Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006801:Humans; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis