Expression of cyclooxygenase-2 in breast carcinogenesis and its relation to HER-2/neu and p53 protein expression in invasive ductal carcinoma.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression in the successive steps of breast carcinogenesis and to determine its correlation with HER-2/neu and p53 expression in invasive ductal carcinomas of the breast. Immunohistochemical staining with anti-COX-2 antibody was performed in normal breast tissue, usual hyperplasia, ductal carcinoma in situ, and invasive ductal carcinoma. Expression of COX-2 in invasive ductal carcinoma was correlated with immunohistochemical expression of HER-2/neu and p53 protein. COX-2 expression was found to be progressively elevated along the continuum from normal breast tissue to invasive ductal carcinoma (P<0.001). COX-2 expression significantly correlated with p53 and HER-2/neu protein expression (P<0.05 and P<0.001). On multivariate analysis, only TNM stage and elevated COX-2 expression correlated with survival. Our results suggest that COX-2 may be involved in the carcinogenesis of the breast and may be an independent prognostic indicator in patients with invasive ductal carcinoma. HER-2/neu and p53 are likely to be involved in the regulation of COX-2 expression in invasive ductal carcinomas of the breast.
Cho
M H
MH
Department of Surgery, Chonnam National University Medical School and Research Institute of Medical Science, Gwangju 501-746, Republic of Korea, and Department of Pathology, Deaconess Hospital, OK, USA.
Yoon
J H
JH
Jaegal
Y J
YJ
Choi
Y D
YD
Lee
J S
JS
Lee
J H
JH
Nam
J H
JH
Choi
C
C
Lee
M C
MC
Park
C S
CS
Woo Juhng
S
S
Min
K W
KW
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D018270:Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2 / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D016019:Survival Analysis; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000096:biosynthesis*
D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53