Analysis and clinical relevance of human leukocyte antigen class I, heavy chain, and beta2-microglobulin downregulation in breast cancer.
Investigation is lacking regarding the clinical impact of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I downregulation in breast cancer and results are inconsistent. In this study, we investigated the expression of HLA class I, the heavy chain, and beta2-microglobulin (beta2-m) by immunohistochemistry in 67 breast carcinomas (BC) and correlated results with clinical-pathologic parameters and patient outcomes. Seventy-six percent of BC were downregulated for HLA class I, whereas downregulation of heavy chain and beta2-m was observed in 57 and 46% of BC, respectively. A significant association existed between the absence of tumor necrosis and downregulation of class I and beta2-m and between the absence of lymphovascular invasion and patient's age and downregulated class I and heavy chain, respectively. Among the lymph node-positive BC patients, a significantly improved overall survival was observed in those showing beta2-m downregulation compared with patients with normal beta2-m. This result may correlate with the role of beta2-m in regulating cancer cell growth.
Breast Cancer Laboratory of Tumour Genetics Unit, National Cancer Research Institute, Genoa, Italy.
Anna
A
Morabito
Beatrice
B
Dozin
Sandra
S
Salvi
Gennaro
G
Pasciucco
Giuseppe
G
Balbi
Stefania
S
Laurent
Simona
S
Pastorino
Franca
F
Carli
Mauro
M
Truini
Paolo
P
Bruzzi
Lucia
L
Del Mastro
Maria Pia
MP
Pistillo
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D015536:Down-Regulation; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006680:HLA Antigens; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D001613:beta 2-Microglobulin / Q000032:analysis*
D006680:HLA Antigens; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I; D001613:beta 2-Microglobulin