Barbi G P, Margallo E, Margiocco M, Paganuzzi M, Marroni P, Costanzi B, Gatteschi B, Tanara G, Spina B, Nicolò G
Clinical Pathology Service, National Institute for Cancer Research, Genoa, Italy.
Oncology. 1994 Jul-Aug;51(4):329-33. doi: 10.1159/000227359.
Cathepsin D is an acidic lysosomal protease expressed in all cells. Some studies have shown correlations between high levels of tissue cathepsin D and poor prognosis. This paper deals with 158 cases of breast cancer in which tissue concentrations in cathepsin D, age, estrogen and progesterone receptor content, and pathological characteristics of the tumor were investigated. Tumors were considered to be cathepsin D+ when a concentration > 40 pmol/mg protein (median value in our samples) was determined. The expression of cathepsin D appears to be related to grading (p = 0.04) and lymph node status (p = 0.05). We found no significant associations among cathepsin D levels, patient age, steroid receptors and histological type. Moreover, the levels of cathepsin D have been evaluated in 9 samples of recurring or metastatic neoplasia and 11 cases of benign breast lesions. We conclude that cathepsin D may be a useful prognostic predictor in breast cancer. Further investigations are required to improve and extend the applications of this assay.
组织蛋白酶D是一种在所有细胞中均有表达的酸性溶酶体蛋白酶。一些研究表明，组织中高水平的组织蛋白酶D与预后不良相关。本文研究了158例乳腺癌病例，调查了其中组织蛋白酶D的浓度、年龄、雌激素和孕激素受体含量以及肿瘤的病理特征。当测定浓度>40 pmol/mg蛋白质（我们样本中的中位数）时，肿瘤被认为是组织蛋白酶D阳性。组织蛋白酶D的表达似乎与分级（p = 0.04）和淋巴结状态（p = 0.05）有关。我们发现组织蛋白酶D水平、患者年龄、类固醇受体和组织学类型之间无显著关联。此外，还对9例复发或转移性肿瘤样本和11例乳腺良性病变病例的组织蛋白酶D水平进行了评估。我们得出结论，组织蛋白酶D可能是乳腺癌有用的预后预测指标。需要进一步研究以改进和扩展该检测方法的应用。
