title: Evaluation of MAGE-1 Cancer-Testis Antigen Expression in Invasive Breast Cancer and its Correlation with Prognostic Factors.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Aberrant expression of cancer-testis antigens (CTA) in breast carcinoma tissue, and its natural expression in the testis, the tissue away from the immune system, makes them good candidates for cancer immunotherapy and vaccines designing.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to assess the expression of a CTA (MAGE-1) in invasive breast cancer and its correlation with prognostic factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  Paraffin blocks of breast cancer tissues from 113 patients operated in 2011 - 2013 were stained for MAGE-1expression by immunohistochemistry (IHC). The associations of MAGE-1 expression with known prognostic factors were assessed by statistical analysis using SPSS 16.
  
  
  RESULTS
  MAGE-1 expression was found in cancer cell cytoplasms of 30.1% of patients, with different degrees of intensity, (23.9% moderate and 6.2% strong). Nuclear staining turned positive in 31.8%, stratified from moderate in 26.5%to to strong in 5.3%. There was a significant association between the number of lymph nodes involved and both nuclear (P = 0.042) and cytoplasmic (P = 0.003) MAGE-1 expression. There was also a significant correlation between the nuclear expression of MAGE-1 and tumor size (P = 0.018). Cytoplasmic expression of MAGE-1 increased with increasing pathologic grade of tumors although the association was not statistically significant (P = 0.119).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CTA MAGE-1 has significant association with some prognostic factors in breast cancer and may have the role of a prognostic factor.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Mashhad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Mashhad, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Mojtaba
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rastgoosalami
authors.affiliation: Cancer Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Bahram
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Memar
authors.affiliation: Cancer Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Seyed Amir
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Aledavood
authors.affiliation: Cancer Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Azar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fanipakdel
keywords: Breast Cancer; Cancer-Testis Antigens; Immunohistochemistry; MAGE-1