Glycosaminoglycans in human breast cancer: morphological and biochemical study.

The authors evaluate the distribution and the content of glycosaminoglycans (GAG) in neoplastic tissue from mastectomy specimens of 15 patients treated for an infiltrating ductal carcinoma NOS, in comparison to normal tissue of the opposite quadrant. Neoplastic tissues contain a marked amount (5 mg/g dry defatted tissue) of GAG, in comparison to normal ones (2.2 mg/g dry defatted weight). In stellate carcinomas GAG are localized near the interface with the host tissue and are constituted mainly of chondroitin sulfates and hyaluronate. These data are confirmed by electrophoretic analysis.