Liu Yunjiang, Ma Li, Liu Xianyi, Wang Li
Department of Breast Center, No. 4 Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang 050011, P.R. China.
Exp Ther Med. 2012 Mar;3(3):550-554. doi: 10.3892/etm.2011.429. Epub 2011 Dec 22.
The aim of the present study was to detect the expression of human mammaglobin (hMAM) mRNA in the bone marrow (BM) of patients with breast cancer and determine the relationship between micrometastasis and clinicopathological parameters as well as selected molecular markers and breast cancer prognosis. The expression of hMAM mRNA in the BM of patients with breast cancer was determined by RT-PCR. The expression of ER, PR and Cath-D in cancer tissues was detected by immunohistochemistry. A positive expression rate for hMAM of 38.2% in 102 patients with stage I-III breast cancer was found. The expression of hMAM was higher in patients with T(2-3) (>2 cm) tumors than in those with T(1) tumors (≤2 cm) (χ(2)=19.20, P=0.001) and in patients with stage II or III tumors than in patients with stage I tumors (χ(2)=15.101, P=0.001). The expression of hMAM in the BM of breast cancer patients categorized as grade 1 was lower than that in those of grade 2 or 3 (χ(2)=8.522, P=0.014), and hMAM expression was related to the pathological type of tumor (χ(2)=6.892, P=0.032) and the degree of axillary lymph node metastasis (χ(2)=14.050, P=0.001). The expression of hMAM in BM was much higher in patients with ER(-) or ER(+) tumors than in those with ER(++ or +++) (χ(2)=11.800, P=0.003), and those with PR (χ(2)=8.759, P=0.013). hMAM expression in BM was also significantly positively correlated with Cath-D expression (χ(2)=6.623, P=0.036). However, no correlation was found between hMAM expression and patient age (χ(2)=1.056, P=0.304). There was a strong correlation between patients with positive expression of hMAM in the BM and the presence of distant metastases (P=0.009). In conclusion, micrometastasis in the BM correlates with certain clinical pathological parameters and several tumor markers. Patients with positive expression of hMAM in the BM have a greater chance of distant metastasis and poor prognosis. The detection of micrometastasis may be one of the most advantageous markers for predicting the prognosis of breast cancer.
本研究旨在检测乳腺癌患者骨髓中人类乳腺珠蛋白（hMAM）mRNA的表达，确定微转移与临床病理参数以及所选分子标志物和乳腺癌预后之间的关系。采用逆转录聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）检测乳腺癌患者骨髓中hMAM mRNA的表达。采用免疫组织化学法检测癌组织中雌激素受体（ER）、孕激素受体（PR）和组织蛋白酶D（Cath-D）的表达。102例Ⅰ-Ⅲ期乳腺癌患者中，hMAM阳性表达率为38.2%。T（2-3）（>2 cm）肿瘤患者的hMAM表达高于T（1）（≤2 cm）肿瘤患者（χ²=19.20，P=0.001），Ⅱ期或Ⅲ期肿瘤患者的hMAM表达高于Ⅰ期肿瘤患者（χ²=15.101，P=0.001）。乳腺癌患者骨髓中hMAM在1级患者中的表达低于2级或3级患者（χ²=8.522，P=0.014），hMAM表达与肿瘤病理类型（χ²=6.892，P=0.032）和腋窝淋巴结转移程度（χ²=14.050，P=0.001）有关。ER（-）或ER（+）肿瘤患者骨髓中hMAM的表达高于ER（++或 +++）患者（χ²=11.800，P=0.003），PR（χ²=8.759，P=0.013）患者也是如此。骨髓中hMAM表达也与Cath-D表达显著正相关（χ²=6.623，P=0.036）。然而，hMAM表达与患者年龄之间未发现相关性（χ²=1.056，P=0.304）。骨髓中hMAM阳性表达的患者与远处转移的存在之间存在强烈相关性（P=0.009）。总之，骨髓中的微转移与某些临床病理参数和几种肿瘤标志物相关。骨髓中hMAM阳性表达的患者远处转移的机会更大，预后较差。微转移的检测可能是预测乳腺癌预后最有利的标志物之一。
