Barrett-Lee P, Travers M, Luqmani Y, Coombes R C
Medical Oncology Unit, St George's Hospital Medical School, London, UK.
Br J Cancer. 1990 Apr;61(4):612-7. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1990.136.
The levels of mRNA for transforming growth factors (TGF alpha and beta) and the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) were determined in 69 human breast carcinomas and 20 biopsies of non-neoplastic breast tissue by dot blot hybridisation analysis. TGF alpha mRNA was detected in 42% of cancers and 44% of non-neoplastic breast tissue at low levels. TGF beta mRNA was found in all breast cancers and non-neoplastic breast tissues, but the levels of TGF beta mRNA were found to be higher in breast cancers (P = 0.01). EGFR mRNA was detected in 55% of breast cancers and in all non-neoplastic breast tissue tested. The presence of EGFR mRNA was inversely related to oestrogen receptor (ER) status (P = 0.0001). Coexpression of TGF alpha and EGFR was observed in 28% of the carcinomas, and significantly more commonly in ER negative tumours (P = 0.01). No significant relationship was found between histological grade, tumour cellularity or tumour desmoplasia and expression of either the TGFs or of EGFR mRNA. High levels of TGF beta were, however, associated with the absence of lymph node metastases at presentation (P = 0.05). Levels of TGF alpha and beta and EGFR mRNA were analysed in relationship to the relapse-free and overall survival of patients with breast cancer, but none was found to predict significantly the outcome in these patients. Longer clinical follow-up and larger numbers of patients are required to determine whether TGFs will prove a useful marker for prognosis in breast cancer patients.
通过斑点印迹杂交分析，测定了69例人类乳腺癌组织和20例非肿瘤性乳腺组织活检标本中转化生长因子（TGFα和TGFβ）及表皮生长因子受体（EGFR）的mRNA水平。42%的癌组织和44%的非肿瘤性乳腺组织中检测到低水平的TGFα mRNA。所有乳腺癌组织和非肿瘤性乳腺组织中均检测到TGFβ mRNA，但乳腺癌组织中TGFβ mRNA水平更高（P = 0.01）。55%的乳腺癌组织和所有检测的非肿瘤性乳腺组织中检测到EGFR mRNA。EGFR mRNA的存在与雌激素受体（ER）状态呈负相关（P = 0.0001）。28%的癌组织中观察到TGFα和EGFR共表达，在ER阴性肿瘤中更常见（P = 0.01）。未发现组织学分级、肿瘤细胞密度或肿瘤间质形成与TGFs或EGFR mRNA表达之间存在显著关系。然而，高水平的TGFβ与初诊时无淋巴结转移相关（P = 0.05）。分析了TGFα、TGFβ和EGFR mRNA水平与乳腺癌患者无复发生存期和总生存期的关系，但未发现任何一项能显著预测这些患者的预后。需要更长时间的临床随访和更多患者来确定TGFs是否能成为乳腺癌患者预后的有用标志物。
