title: Telomere shortening in breast cancer correlates with the pathological features of tumor progression.
abstract: Telomeres are involved in the maintenance of genomic stability. Telomere alteration has been observed in most human cancer types, and is known to be a feature of malignancy. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether the telomere length of breast cancer cells correlates with TNM stage and several pathological features. We investigated a total of 44 breast cancers, including 17 scirrhous, 15 papillotubular and 12 solid-tubular carcinomas. Telomere lengths were determined by tissue quantitative fluorescence in situ hybridization (Q-FISH), and compared according to the TNM stage, histological tumor size, lymph node metastases, vascular invasion and immunohistochemical status (ER, PR, HER2 status and Ki67 labeling index). In all histological types, telomeres of cancer cells were significantly shorter than those of normal epithelial cells. Mean telomere length was significantly less in patients with TNM stage III, and in those with large tumors, lymph node metastases and vascular invasion. Our results suggest that the telomere length of cancer cells is strongly correlated with the degree of cancer progression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Kanaji Thyroid Hospital, Kita-ku, Tokyo 114‑0015, Japan.
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kammori
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory, Kanaji Thyroid Hospital, Kita-ku, Tokyo 114‑0015, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshiyuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sugishita
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Division of Surgical Endocrinology, Tokyo Women's Medical University, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-0054, Japan.
authors.forename: Takahiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Okamoto
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology 1, Tokyo Women's Medical University, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-0054, Japan.
authors.forename: Makio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory, Kanaji Thyroid Hospital, Kita-ku, Tokyo 114‑0015, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazuko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamazaki
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Kanaji Thyroid Hospital, Kita-ku, Tokyo 114‑0015, Japan.
authors.forename: Emiko
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Kanaji Thyroid Hospital, Kita-ku, Tokyo 114‑0015, Japan.
authors.forename: Tetsu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamada
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D008875:Middle Aged; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D059506:Telomere Shortening