title: Prognostic importance of neuroendocrine differentiation in Japanese breast cancer patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the frequency and prognostic importance of neuroendocrine differentiation (NED) in Japanese breast cancer patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used standard immunohistochemical techniques to examine 50 patients who underwent resection of breast cancer between 1988 and 1993 at the Department of Surgery II, Nagoya University Hospital, for NED, defined as positive reactivity for four markers: neuron-specific enolase (NSE), synaptophysin, CD57, and chromogranin A (CGA). Neuroendocrine differentiation was defined by the presence of at least one marker including CGA, CD57, and synaptophysin, or at least two markers when one was positive for NSE.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Neuroendocrine differentiation was found in 13 (26%) of the 50 patients examined. There were no significant differences in the distribution of patients with positive or negative NED in terms of age, menopausal status, tumor size, lymph node metastasis, histological grade, ER, PgR, and HER2. We calculated the cumulative survival rates of patient groups according to NED status, and found no significant difference in overall or disease-free survival between patients with and those without NED.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Neuroendocrine differentiation was identified in a subset (26%) of Japanese breast cancer patients, but this appeared to have no relationship with established prognostic factors or patient outcome.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery II, Nagoya University School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya 466-8550, Japan.
authors.forename: Masataka
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sawaki
authors.forename: Kazuki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yokoi
authors.forename: Tetsuro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nagasaka
authors.forename: Reiko
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: Chikara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kagawa
authors.forename: Hideki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takada
authors.forename: Shigenori
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: Tomohiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: Toyone
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kikumori
authors.forename: Tsuneo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Imai
authors.forename: Akimasa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nakao
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*; D018959:CD57 Antigens / Q000378:metabolism*; D053379:Chromogranin A / Q000378:metabolism*; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008875:Middle Aged; D055099:Neuroendocrine Cells / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D010751:Phosphopyruvate Hydratase / Q000378:metabolism*; D011379:Prognosis; D015996:Survival Rate; D016708:Synaptophysin / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D018959:CD57 Antigens; D053379:Chromogranin A; D016708:Synaptophysin; D010751:Phosphopyruvate Hydratase