Shurbaji M S, Pasternack G R, Kuhajda F P
Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.
Am J Clin Pathol. 1991 Aug;96(2):238-42. doi: 10.1093/ajcp/96.2.238.
The ability to establish a prognosis for patients with early breast cancer is an important clinical issue. Recent studies have shown that antibodies to haptoglobin-related protein (Hpr) may be useful in stratifying early patients with breast cancer according to their relative risks of recurrence. Nearly 30% of early breast cancers express proteins bearing Hpr epitopes. Hpr-positive breast cancers are more likely to recur after primary resection and are associated with shorter disease-free intervals. This immunohistochemical study examines temporal changes in Hpr expression during the course of disease in 48 patients with fatal breast carcinoma. Thirty-seven primary tumors (77%) were Hpr positive. Ten of the 11 initially negative tumors (91%) were Hpr positive at the time of recurrence. In contrast, only 10 of the 37 initially positive tumors (27%) were Hpr negative with relapse. Of 18 axillary nodes that were examined, 16 (89%) were Hpr positive; all four lymph nodal metastases in patients with initially negative primary tumors were Hpr positive. The authors conclude that the acquisition of Hpr expression parallels increased malignant potential and that Hpr expression, once acquired, tends to remain a permanent characteristic of any given mammary tumor.
对早期乳腺癌患者进行预后评估的能力是一个重要的临床问题。最近的研究表明，抗触珠蛋白相关蛋白（Hpr）抗体可能有助于根据早期乳腺癌患者的相对复发风险对其进行分层。近30%的早期乳腺癌表达带有Hpr表位的蛋白。Hpr阳性的乳腺癌在初次切除后更易复发，且与无病生存期较短相关。这项免疫组织化学研究检测了48例致命性乳腺癌患者疾病过程中Hpr表达的时间变化。37例原发性肿瘤（77%）为Hpr阳性。11例最初为阴性的肿瘤中有10例（91%）在复发时为Hpr阳性。相比之下，37例最初为阳性的肿瘤中只有10例（27%）在复发时为Hpr阴性。在检查的18个腋窝淋巴结中，16个（89%）为Hpr阳性；最初原发性肿瘤为阴性的患者中所有4例淋巴结转移均为Hpr阳性。作者得出结论，Hpr表达的获得与恶性潜能增加平行，且Hpr表达一旦获得，往往会成为任何特定乳腺肿瘤的一个永久特征。
