Klin Onkol. 2024;37(1):50-56. doi: 10.48095/ccko202450.
Triple-negative breast carcinomas (TNBC) are a heterogeneous group of tumors with mostly aggressive behaviour and poor prognosis. In association with their aggressive behavior and chemoresistance to treatment, the concept of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) has come to the fore. CD9 and CD29 proteins are associated with EMT and may play a role in TNBC progression. Our aim was to investigate association of these markers with the lymph node metastasis, tumor grade, proliferative activity, and patient survival.
Our cohort consisted of 66 TNBC patients without neoadjuvant therapy, aged 26-81 years. The pathological tumor stages ranged from pT1b to pT3 and histological grades ranged from II to III, according to the Bloom-Richardson system. Immunohistochemical evaluation of CD9, CD29, E-cadherin, vimentin, androgen receptor and Ki-67 expression was performed semiquantitatively using the H-score. Expression of the proteins was statistically evaluated in relation to the clinicopathological parameters and survival of the patients.
We observed lower expression of CD9 in lymph node metastases compared to the primary tumor (P = 0.021). The CD29 expression in primary tumor was significantly lower in patients with lymph node metastases compared to patients without cancer dissemination (P = 0.03). Neither CD9 nor CD29 protein expression was associated with breast cancer-specific survival (BCSS). Lower expression of E-cadherin at the periphery of the primary tumor was associated with worse BCSS (P = 0.038). Neither grade nor the presence of lymph node metastases reached significant association with the BCSS. Lower expression of E-cadherin at the periphery was also associated with higher Ki67 (Rs -0.26) and vimentin (Rs -0.33).
Decreased protein expression of CD9 and CD29 were associated with lymph node metastasis growth, however, their association with survival was not proved. Lower expression of E-cadherin at the periphery of the primary tumor was associated with high proliferation and poor breast cancer-specific survival.
三阴性乳腺癌（TNBC）是一组具有侵袭性和不良预后的异质性肿瘤。与它们的侵袭性行为和对治疗的化学抗性相关，上皮-间充质转化（EMT）的概念已经成为焦点。CD9 和 CD29 蛋白与 EMT 相关，可能在 TNBC 进展中发挥作用。我们的目的是研究这些标志物与淋巴结转移、肿瘤分级、增殖活性和患者生存的关系。
我们的队列包括 66 例未经新辅助治疗的 TNBC 患者，年龄 26-81 岁。根据 Bloom-Richardson 系统，病理肿瘤分期范围从 pT1b 到 pT3，组织学分级范围从 II 级到 III 级。使用 H 评分对 CD9、CD29、E-钙黏蛋白、波形蛋白、雄激素受体和 Ki-67 表达进行半定量免疫组织化学评估。使用统计学方法评估蛋白表达与患者的临床病理参数和生存的关系。
我们观察到淋巴结转移中的 CD9 表达低于原发性肿瘤（P=0.021）。与无癌症扩散的患者相比，原发性肿瘤中 CD29 的表达在有淋巴结转移的患者中明显降低（P=0.03）。CD9 或 CD29 蛋白表达均与乳腺癌特异性生存（BCSS）无关。原发性肿瘤周边 E-钙黏蛋白的低表达与更差的 BCSS 相关（P=0.038）。分级和淋巴结转移的存在均与 BCSS 无显著相关性。原发性肿瘤周边 E-钙黏蛋白的低表达也与 Ki67（Rs-0.26）和波形蛋白（Rs-0.33）的高表达相关。
CD9 和 CD29 蛋白表达降低与淋巴结转移的进展有关，但与生存的关系尚未得到证实。原发性肿瘤周边 E-钙黏蛋白的低表达与高增殖和不良的乳腺癌特异性生存相关。
