Prognostic value of histochemical evaluation of steroid binding sites in breast tumors

Frozen tumor sections and/or cytological smears and aspirates from 614 patients were studied utilizing the fluorescent estrogen binding technique of Lee. Survival analyses of the results indicated that women less than 55 years of age and with positive tumors had a statistically better disease-free interval and survived significantly longer than older patients. The method is thus an independent predictor of survival and disease-free interval in this subgroup of breast cancer patients.     

Lipid-bound sugars in malignant human breast tumors

Microsomal preparations from malignant human breast tumors catalyzed the transfer of mannose and glucose from GDP-[14C]-Man and UDP-[14C]-Glc into lipid-linked sugars and glycoprotein-like substances. As judged by several criteria the obtained lipid-linked monosaccharides behaved as dolichyl phosphate mannose and dolichyl phosphate glucose whereas lipid-linked oligosaccharides behaved as polyprenyl diphosphate derivatives. The optimum conditions for mannosyl- and glucosyl-transfer reactions and the effect of dolichyl phosphate, detergent and EDTA on incubation mixture were described.     

The diagnostic value of mucinous carcinoma-associated antigen (MCA) tests in breast carcinomas.

MCA (Mucinous Carcinoma-Associated Antigen) levels of 176 breast carcinoma patients were tested postoperatively by serial determination. One hundred forty-one patients had non-progressive disease (PD-) while 35 were in the progressive phase (PD+); in the latter the diagnosis was confirmed by means of current diagnostic procedures. One hundred seventeen of the 141 PD-patients showed MCA levels below cutoff whereas 27 of the 35 PD+ cases showed high values. The difference in the incidence of elevated MCA levels between PD- and PD+ groups was statistically significant (p < 0.05). The overall diagnostic efficacy of MCA assays showed 77% sensitivity and 82% specificity.     

Differences in sexual functioning between patients with benign and malignant breast tumors

The aim of this study was to compare differences in sexual behavior between patients with benign and malignant breast tumors. A total of 187 patients treated for breast tumors (benign or malignant) at the General Hospital >Pozega<, Croatia, filled in the questionnaire between January 2001 and May 2003. Patients were asked to fill in the questionnaire one to ten years after treatment of breast tumor, while they were on their regular control visit. Deterioration in sexual life experienced 36.27% of patients with benign tumors and 51.76% of patients with malignant tumor (p<0.01). The main reason of sex life impairment in both groups was distortion of body image perception. Most of partners did not change their behavior toward women with breast tumors (48.72% for benign group and 41.82% or malignant group, p>0.05). A great amount of women in both groups felt certain change in her >body image<, but in greater extent in malignant group (41.18% vs. 25.49%), (p<0.05). From our results we can see that patients in this study do not recognize need for consultation with their physician regarding sex life after treatment of tumor (41.18% for benign and 35.29% in malignant group). It can be concluded that considerable amount of attention should be given to psychological aspects of recovery which can improve prognosis and quality of life in general.     

Proteomics of mouse BRCA1-deficient mammary tumors identifies DNA repair proteins with potential diagnostic and prognostic value in human breast cancer

Breast cancer 1, early onset (BRCA1) hereditary breast cancer, a type of cancer with defects in the homology-directed DNA repair pathway, would benefit from the identification of proteins for diagnosis, which might also be of potential use as screening, prognostic, or predictive markers. Sporadic breast cancers with defects in the BRCA1 pathway might also be diagnosed. We employed proteomics based on one-dimensional gel electrophoresis in combination with nano-LC-MS/MS and spectral counting to compare the protein profiles of mammary tumor tissues of genetic mouse models either deficient or proficient in BRCA1. We identified a total of 3,545 proteins, of which 801 were significantly differentially regulated between the BRCA1-deficient and -proficient breast tumors. Pathway and protein complex analysis identified DNA repair and related functions as the major processes associated with the up-regulated proteins in the BRCA1-deficient tumors. In addition, by selecting highly connected nodes, we identified a BRCA1 deficiency signature of 45 proteins that enriches for homology-directed DNA repair deficiency in human gene expression breast cancer data sets. This signature also exhibits prognostic power across multiple data sets, with optimal performance in a data set enriched in tumors deficient in homology-directed DNA repair. In conclusion, by comparing mouse proteomes from BRCA1-proficient and -deficient mammary tumors, we were able to identify several markers associated with BRCA1 deficiency and a prognostic signature for human breast cancer deficient in homology-directed DNA repair.     

The value of the immunoperoxidase slide assay in the diagnosis of malignant pleural effusions in breast cancer

Whether immunocytochemical studies of malignant pleural effusions due to breast cancer would increase the diagnostic yield as compared with conventional effusion cytology was examined in 30 cases with biopsy-proven metastatic spread to the pleura. Conventional cytology was performed on air-dried smears as well as on cytocentrifuge preparations stained with the May-Grünwald-Giemsa stain. Immunocytochemistry was performed with monoclonal antibodies against carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), epithelial membrane antigen (EMA) and human leukocyte antigen (HLA) and the peroxidase-antiperoxidase technique on glass slides after Ficoll-Hypaque centrifugation. By conventional cytology, 13 cases (43%) were positive for malignant cells, 6 cases (20%) were suspicious, and 11 cases (37%) were negative. In marked contrast, all 30 cases were immunocytologically positive for malignancy. Tumor cells in all cases demonstrated a positive reaction for EMA. Some mesothelial cells were also positive for EMA, but their reaction pattern was clearly distinguishable from that of the tumor cells. Twenty-one cases (70%) also showed CEA-positive tumor cells; mesothelial cells never reacted with CEA. Some tumor cells showed a loss of HLA expression. In conclusion, this immunocytologic method can be recommended as a routine procedure for greatly increasing the diagnostic yield of cytology in pleural effusions due to breast cancer.     

Fine needle aspiration cytology of rare malignant tumors of the breast.

This report describes the fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytologic findings in 17 rare malignant breast tumors. The series consisted of invasive cribriform carcinoma, papillary carcinoma, apocrine carcinoma, carcinoma with pseudosarcomatous metaplasia, carcinosarcoma, fibrosarcoma, malignant phyllodes tumors, primary malignant lymphomas, plasmocytoma, metastatic melanoma and metastatic renal clear cell carcinoma. Besides cytomorphology, the results of immunostaining in eight cases are presented, as is a review of the literature. It is important for rare primary malignancies, as well as for metastatic tumors, to be diagnosed, or at least have the diagnosis suggested, preoperatively by FNA and immunocytochemistry, permitting better therapy planning.     

Cytopathology of malignant mesothelioma. Reappraisal of the diagnostic value of collagen cores

The identification of malignant mesothelial cells in cytological smears prepared from serous effusions is still hampered by the lack of features specific for mesothelial differentiation. We examined the diagnostic value of collagen cores within clusters of tumour cells in cytological smears prepared from effusions from 43 patients with malignant mesothelioma and of 62 cases of metastatic adenocarcinoma. In Giemsa-stained smears collagen cores were detected in 51% of the cases of malignant mesothelioma and in none of the smears with metastatic adenocarcinoma. Using the Azan stain, collagen cores were detected in 64% of the malignant mesotheliomas and 4% of the adenocarcinomas. Immunoelectron microscopy demonstrated that the collagen cores are largely composed of collagen type III fibrils and some elastin embedded in a homogenous extracellular matrix. It can be concluded that the presence of collagen cores within clusters of tumour cells is highly suggestive of mesothelial differentiation and a common finding in malignant mesothelioma.     

The oncogenic potentials and diagnostic significance of long non‐coding RNA LINC00310 in breast cancer

Recent studies have revealed that long non‐coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are involved in different physiological processes and human diseases. However, to date, the function and overall clinical significance of the vast majority of lncRNAs in breast cancer remain largely unexplored. Here, we focused on LINC00310 by interrogating the breast invasive carcinoma data set of the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). The results showed that LINC00310 was increased as breast cancer progressed, and the deregulation of LINC00310 was significantly associated with patients’ survival. Experiments with knockout (KO) approach by CRISPR/Cas9 system and the subsequent rescue experiments revealed that LINC00310 promoted cell proliferation by regulating c‐Myc expression in vitro. Nude mouse xenograft assay demonstrated that LINC00310 KO significantly suppressed tumour growth in vivo. Furthermore, we found that serum LINC00310 expression was significantly up‐regulated in patients with breast cancer, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis indicated that LINC00310 had a powerful capability of distinguishing patients with breast cancer from healthy individuals (the area under curve 0.828). Taken together, these results provide a more intuitive approach to explore the clinical relevance and functional roles of lncRNAs. As a result, lncRNAs, such as LINC00310, may be used in clinical applications as circulating markers for breast cancer.     

The diagnostic value of combined detection of genetic markers and serum protein markers on breast cancer

Objective: The research is to explore the diagnostic value of several detection methods including separated and combined detection of the related genes and related proteins of breast cancer and combined detection of all genetic markers and serum protein markers on breast cancer. Method: The mRNA level expression of the related genes of breast cancer was detected by FQ-PCR technique and the ratio of BRCA-1, Myc, C-erbB2 and β2 micro-globulin was used to express levels of BRCA-1, Myc and C-erbB2; the related proteins of breast cancer were detected through ELISA. Then the research data was analyzed by SPSS19.0 software with t-test as comparison method, and ROC curve was used to calculate the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of the diagnostic models. Result: No difference can be found among the six indexes in the control group and benign breast tumor group while compared with the benign breast tumor group and the control group, the breast cancer group was significantly different from them; combined detection of genes and that of proteins were both superior to their separated detection; all-marker combined detection was superior to separated detection, which is consistent with combined detection of genes and proteins. Conclusion: More detection indexes will not necessarily outcome better detection effect. Hence, appropriate detection indexes and number are needed to achieve better diagnosis effect. In order to conduct more specific method, more test samples are needed for further researches.     

The possibilities of retaining fertility in malignant gynecological tumors

The protection of reproductive organs and retaining fertility have always been of paramount importance in gynecology. Development of gynecological oncology and reproductive medicine over the last few decades have achieved and, indeed, made it compulsory to insist on retaining fertility when treatment of malignant disease leaves an opportunity for future pregnancies. The basic rule of gynecological cancer surgery is clarified further that radicality should not be more extensive than necessary and, at the same time, as intensive as the least necessary. One of the new challenges of current demographic trends, mostly in developed countries, is that the first child by the average family is planned nearly 10 years later than some decades ago. As a result, more and more women experience the development of malignant disease before they complete their family planning intentions. Beside the improved cancer treatment methods, deep frozen conservation of eggs and ovarian tissue together with chemotherapy and GnRH agonist treatment will provide further opportunity to enhance reproductive potential of women who are successfully treated of their gynecological cancer.