title: Flow cytometric DNA hypertetraploidy tends to be more frequent in male than in female breast cancers.
abstract: The aim of the study was to explore possible differences in DNA flow cytometric characteristics, particularly differences in distribution of DNA indices of aneuploid clones, between male and female breast cancers. We retrospectively analyzed 31 male breast cancers. Clinicopathological and DNA flow cytometric characteristics of male breast cancers (patient age, tumor size, histological type, histological grade, axillary lymph node status, hormone receptor expression, ploidy, and S-phase fraction) were compared with that of the control group of matched female breast cancers. Hormone receptors and HER-2/neu were investigated immunohistochemically with additional chromogenic in situ hybridization (CISH) analysis of HER-2/neu 2+ cases. Ploidy and S-phase fraction were determined by DNA flow cytometry. Comparison with clinicopathological features was made using χ (2) and t test. Aneuploidy was found in 78% of the cases, with the predomination of hypotetraploid clones (39%), followed by tetraploid (23%) and hypertetraploid clones (16%). We found higher frequency of hypertetraploidy in male breast cancers (16 and 6%, respectively) than in the control group of matched female breast cancers. Clinicopathological features of hypertetraploid male breast cancers did not differ from that of non-hypertetraploid cancers. Higher frequency of hypertetraploidy among male breast cancers might indicate different cytogenetical evolutionary pathway between male and female breast cancer.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Pathology, Forensic Medicine and Cytology, Clinical Hospital Center Split, Spinčićeva 1, HR-21000, Split, Croatia, jbezic@mefst.hr.
authors.forename: Joško
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bezić
authors.forename: Ivana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Šamija Projić
authors.forename: Petar
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Projić
authors.forename: Jelena
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ljubković
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zekić Tomaš
authors.forename: Kristina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Meljanac Salopek
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Piljić Burazer
authors.forename: Snježana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tomić
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D018567:Breast Neoplasms, Male / Q000235:genetics*; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011003:Ploidies; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D004273:DNA, Neoplasm