title: Assessment of endothelial cell proliferation in primary breast carcinoma and its association with axillary lymph node status.
abstract: The correlation between angiogenesis as assessed by endothelial cell proliferation in blood/lymphatic vessels in primary breast carcinomas, and axillary lymph-node metastasis was studied using a case-control design. Primary breast carcinomas, < 2 cm in diameter, from 26 axillary node positive patients (case), were compared with neoplasms from 45 node-negative patients (control). Vascularity, as assessed by vessel density, and endothelial cell proliferation were measured in a single tissue section using a double immunohistochemical staining technique using MIBI (Ki-67) and FVIII antibodies. No association between vascularity and node status was found (P > 0.70). Node positive breast carcinomas had, on average, significantly smaller proliferating vessels (140+/-7 microm in perimeter) in the primary lesion when compared with node negative tumours (164+/-7 microm in perimeter (P < 0.02). In addition, the frequency of relatively small vessels (less than 180 microm in perimeter) with proliferating endothelium was higher in node positive carcinomas than lymph-node negative neoplasms (P < 0.03). This association between node status and the size and frequency of blood/lymphatic vessels with proliferating endothelium in primary carcinoma may have important implications in metastasis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Western Australia, 6009.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Edel
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Robbins
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: D'Antuono
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Harvey
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Papadimitrion
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mitchell
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dawkins