Quantification of transforming growth factor beta 1 levels in metastatic axillary lymph node tissue extracts from breast cancer patients: a new specimen source.
OBJECTIVE
To use cytoplasmic tissue extract as a new specimen source to quantify transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGFbeta1) protein in metastatic axillary lymph node tissue (ALNT) of breast cancer (BC) patients and to confirm the feasibility of this approach in a prospective pilot study on a subgroup of patients with invasive BC.


METHODS
The 6 selected malignant and autologous nonmalignant pairs of ALNT were fractionated, under special preanalytical, nonaggressive/nondenaturing conditions, to obtain respective cytoplasmic extracts for TGFbeta1 detection by the Quantikine (R&D Systems Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A.) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit.


RESULTS
The data indicated a highly significant (r = 0.973054) positive linear correlation between the TGFbeta1 concentration and total protein concentration in cytoplasmic extract of metastatic ALNT. The subsequent patients' pilot study, performed strictly before any clinicopathologic factors were accessible, revealed significantly (p < 0.01) elevated TGFbeta1 in malignant ALNT (median value: 1.05 ng/mg protein, range: 0.67-3.6 ng/mg protein, n = 6) vs. autologous nonmalignant ALNT controls (median value: 0.48 ng/mg protein, range: 0.29-0.90 ng/mg protein, n = 6). This elevation was correlated with the number of metastatic axillary lymph nodes with respect to the total and was consistent with an increase in size of tumor deposits in axillary lymph nodes.


CONCLUSIONS
Our data provide for the first time suggestive evidence that the TGFbeta1 level in cytoplasmic extracts of metastatic ALNTs may be a promising biomarker of invasiveness for BC patients. Confirmatory, large-scale studies are needed to evaluate possible implications of this putative biomarker in BC diagnosis and treatment.
Ivanović
Vesna
V
Laboratory for Radiobiology and Molecular Genetics, Institute of Nuclear Sciences "Vinia," Serbia. vesnai@eunet.rs
Dedović-Tanić
Nasta
N
Milovanović
Zorka
Z
Lukić
Silvana
S
Nikolić
Srdjan
S
Baltić
Vladimir
V
Stojiljković
Bratislav
B
Budisin
Nikola
N
Savovski
Kiril
K
Demajo
Miroslav
M
Dimitrijević
Bogomir
B
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000556:secondary; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001365:Axilla; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D002458:Cell Fractionation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000378:metabolism*; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008875:Middle Aged; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D053773:Transforming Growth Factor beta1 / Q000378:metabolism*
D053773:Transforming Growth Factor beta1