title: Fascin expression predicts an aggressive clinical course in patients with advanced breast cancer.
abstract: Fascin is an actin cross-linking protein, which regulates actin dynamics and filopodia or spike formation, as well as the epithelial-mesenchymal transition, and has been implicated in cell motility. Although, fascin is pivotal in mediating the aggressive behaviour of various types of cancer, its prognostic significance according to tumour stage has yet to be evaluated. Therefore, the present study investigated fascin expression in 194 patients diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast between 2000 and 2005. Fascin protein expression levels were evaluated by immunostaining on a tissue microarray, and the association between fascin expression and various clinicopathological parameters was analysed. Fascin expression was significantly correlated with various clinicopathological parameters, including high histological grade, tumour necrosis, resistance to adjuvant therapy, high expression of p53 and Ki-67 and specific therapeutic markers (oestrogen and progesterone receptor negativity; all P<0.05). Furthermore, univariate and multivariate analyses identified a significant association between fascin expression, and poor disease-free and overall survival, in late-stage breast cancer (all P<0.05). Therefore, fascin may be crucial in predicting aggressive tumour behaviour, particularly in patients with advanced-stage disease that has acquired the properties of migration and invasion.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University College of Medicine, Anyang, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Kyueng-Whan
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Min
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Seoung Wan
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Chae
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Dong-Hoon
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Sung-Im
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: DO
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Kyungeun
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hyun Joo
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jin Hee
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Sohn
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jung-Soo
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Pyo
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Dong Hyun
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Sukjoong
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Seon Hyeong
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Yong Lai
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Chan Heun
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Park
keywords: fascin-1 protein; human breast cancer; invasive ductal carcinoma; prognosis