Study of the biological and prognostic significance of the antigen CaMBr8 on breast carcinoma

Prognostic significance of laminin production in relation with its receptor expression in human breast carcinomas

Laminin is a basement membrane glycoprotein whose expression has been widely related to cancer progression. Laminin production by primary breast carcinomas was investigated using immunohistochemistry on archival specimens from a retrospective series with long term follow-up. Laminin production was found to be independent of the clinical and pathological variables analyzed, whereas a statistically significant direct association with the expression of the laminin receptor and a negative association with the differentiation-related antigen Ca-MBr8 were observed. Survival analysis indicated that laminin positivity by itself has no prognostic significance. However, when analyzed together with the laminin receptor expression, laminin was associated with a good prognosis in receptor-negative tumors and with the worst prognosis in receptor-positive tumors.

Immunodetection of bone marrow micrometastases in breast carcinoma patients and its correlation with primary tumour prognostic features

Methods such as immunohistochemistry that have enhanced the detection of carcinoma cells in bone marrow aspirates appear to be useful in identifying patients with aggressive tumours. To detect epithelial cells in bone marrow aspirates from breast carcinoma patients, we used a pool of five different monoclonal antibodies (MAbs), which recognise 100% of breast carcinomas, together with the alkaline phosphatase method on cytospun cells obtained from sternum and iliac crest. Primary tumours were also analysed for the expression of the c-erbB-1 and c-erbB-2 oncogene products, and of two differentiation-related markers and laminin receptors. Immunoreactive cells were detected in the bone marrow of 62 of the 197 patients tested (31%) without any correlation with clinical parameters such as tumour size or lymph node metastasis, whereas a significant (P < 0.01) correlation was found with enhanced monomeric laminin receptor expression in the primary tumour. In fact, this receptor was expressed in respectively 63% and 38% of primary tumours from patients with and without immunoreactive cells in the bone marrow aspirates. Thus, the presence of immunoreactive cells in bone marrow correlates with the expression in the primary tumour of a marker of the metastatic potential of the tumour, the 67 kDa laminin receptor.

Prognostic value of a breast cancer-associated glycoprotein detected by monoclonal antibody LU-BCRU-G7

The immunohistochemical reactivity of a second generation murine monoclonal antibody (LU-BCRU-G7), raised against a novel fucosylated glycoprotein of M(r) 2300,000, has shown a significant association with prognosis of early stage carcinomas. Staining was observed in 72% of the 190 breast carcinomas tested. No relationship with steroid receptor status, stage or node status was found. An association with grade was observed (chi 2 7.83, 2 degrees of freedom, P = 0.02) only when the negative cut-off level was raised from < 10% cells staining to < 25%. Antibody reactivity was always cytoplasmic. Immunoblotting shows the antibody is reactive with a component of M(r) 230,000 not detected by HMFG 2. A significant association was found between lack of reactivity and improved disease-free interval (0.005 > P > 0.001) and survival (0.02 > P > 0.01). Subdivision of cases on the basis of node status showed that staining could refine survival data. A decreased reactivity of LU-BCRU-G7 was observed after pretreatment with beta-galactosidase but not a sialidase or beta-N-acetylhexosaminodase indicating that non-reducing terminal galactose residues in beta 1-3 or beta 1-4 linkages may be involved in the antibody binding site. This approach has identified a useful and novel prognostic marker in early stage human breast carcinoma.