Clinical Experimental Oncology Laboratory, National Cancer Centre, University of Bari, Bari, Italy.
Histopathology. 2011 Jun;58(7):1086-95. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2559.2011.03844.x.
Several studies have demonstrated that Na(+) /H(+) exchanger regulatory factor 1 (NHERF1) protein, which is overexpressed and heterogeneously distributed in different stages of breast cancer, could be used as a tumour marker for prognosis in molecular detection strategies. We observed that tumour-infiltrated lymphocytes in the tumour tissue display a high level of NHERF1 staining, in contrast to those present in the contiguous non-involved tissue. Hypothesizing that cancer cells elicit a specific T-cell response associated with the characteristics of the solid tumour, our aim was to evaluate NHERF1 in peripheral lymphocytes from healthy donors and breast cancer patients.
NHERF1 levels were analysed in 55 breast cancer patients and 40 healthy donors, and these levels were compared with clinical pathological features. NHERF1 was overexpressed in circulatory peripheral lymphocytes from patients as compared with those from healthy subjects. Furthermore, in both circulatory lymphocytes and tissues, NHERF1 was positively associated with tumour grade, Nottingham Prognostic Index and oestrogen receptor, whereas there was no association with other clinical parameters in either tissue.
We propose that NHERF1 measurements in circulatory lymphocytes of breast cancer patients may be a valid method for the prediction of breast cancer occurrence and prognosis, and may have value in the management of cancer patients.
多项研究表明，在乳腺癌的不同阶段过度表达且分布不均的 Na(+) /H(+) 交换体调节因子 1（NHERF1）蛋白可用作分子检测策略中预后的肿瘤标志物。我们观察到肿瘤组织中的浸润淋巴细胞显示出高水平的 NHERF1 染色，而与相邻未受累组织中的染色形成鲜明对比。假设癌细胞引发与实体瘤特征相关的特定 T 细胞反应，我们的目的是评估健康供体和乳腺癌患者外周血淋巴细胞中的 NHERF1。
分析了 55 例乳腺癌患者和 40 例健康供体的 NHERF1 水平，并将这些水平与临床病理特征进行比较。与健康受试者相比，患者循环外周淋巴细胞中 NHERF1 过表达。此外，在循环淋巴细胞和组织中，NHERF1 与肿瘤分级、诺丁汉预后指数和雌激素受体呈正相关，而在组织中与其他临床参数均无相关性。
我们提出，乳腺癌患者循环淋巴细胞中的 NHERF1 测量可能是预测乳腺癌发生和预后的有效方法，并且可能对癌症患者的管理具有价值。
