title: Plasma human mammaglobin mRNA associated with poor outcome  in patients with breast cancer.
abstract: Different treatment outcomes and prognoses in patients  with breast cancer can be observed with similar clinical predictors; this is  because the biology of breast cancer is complex and heterogenous, involving  multiple unknown contributing factors. We looked for plasma human mammaglobin  (hMAM) mRNA by RT-PCR in 82 Korean patients with breast cancer to determine if  there is an association between the presence of plasma hMAM mRNA in these  patients and known prognostic factors. The prognostic usefulness of detection  of plasma hMAM mRNA expression in these patients was also evaluated by  determining overall survival and event-free survival. A significant difference was  observed in the rate of positivity of plasma hMAM mRNA between the early stages  of cancer (stages I-II, 23.4%) and advanced stages (stages III-IV, 82.9%). The  expression rates of estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and HER-2/neu in  the breast tissue of these patients, by immunohistochemistry, were 69.5, 75.6,  and 20.7%, respectively. In the univariate analysis, plasma hMAM expression was  significantly correlated with high histological and nuclear grades, nodal  metastasis, and negative estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor status.  Patients negative for plasma hMAM mRNA had significantly higher rates of  event-free survival compared to the patients positive for plasma hMAM mRNA.  However, no significant association with overall survival was observed for  expression of plasma hMAM mRNA (P = 0.16). Qualitative detection of  plasma hMAM mRNA appears to be associated with unfavorable prognostic factors  and lower rates of event-free survival in patients with breast cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Gyeongsang National University, Chilamdong, Jinju, South Korea.
authors.forename: G-W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: J-Y
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: E-H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Koh
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: K-Y
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Maeng
authors.forename: J-S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D061986:MCF-7 Cells; D060785:Mammaglobin A / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D060785:Mammaglobin A; D012333:RNA, Messenger; C556448:SCGB2A2 protein, human