Macrophage level is not affected by monocyte chemotactic protein-1 in invasive ductal breast carcinoma

PURPOSE AND METHOD

Monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) is a chemokine involved in the macrophage infiltration of tumor tissue. Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are a population of mononuclear phagocytic cells that can have a complex function in tumor biology. The aim of this study was to determine the possible correlation between parenchymal MCP-1 expression and TAM level by immunohistochemical analysis of 97 invasive ductal breast carcinomas, not otherwise specified (NOS), and to investigate their relation with tumor size, histological grade, mitotic activity index (MAI) and lymph node status. Secondly, the MCP-1 mRNA was determined by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in eight samples of normal breast tissue and 27 samples of invasive breast carcinomas and compared with TAMs.

RESULTS

MCP-1 immunoreactivity was present in tumor cells (17/97), but also in TAMs, fibroblasts and endothelial cells. The statistical analysis did not show a significant correlation between MCP-1 expression in tumoral epithelium and tumor size, histological grade, MAI, lymph node status or TAMs. The results of RT-PCR showed that, in all cases of breast carcinomas (27/27) and the majority of normal breast tissues (7/8), the number of detected MCP-1 cDNA copies was above the detection limit. However, carcinomas showed higher levels of MCP-1 mRNA than normal breast tissue. Nevertheless, the statistical analysis did not find a significant correlation between MCP-1 expression and macrophage infiltrations.

CONCLUSION

These results indicate that MCP-1 is probably not the only and/or crucial factor involved in macrophage attraction to tumor locus in breast carcinoma.

Comparison of microvessel density with tumor associated macrophages in invasive breast carcinoma

Neovascularization, the growth and formation of capillary blood vessels, is an essential component of solid tumor growth and a critical step in metastasis. Tumor associated macrophages (TAMs) have several functions related to tumor biology including growth, proliferative rate, stroma formation and dissolution, and neovascularization. The aim of this study was to define the TAM and microvessel density (MD) in human invasive breast carcinoma NOS and to correlate their values with lymph node status, tumor size, tumor grade and mitotic activity index (MAI), and, finally, to determine whether MD is connected with TAMs. A total number of 57 invasive breast carcinomas NOS were processed for immunohistochemical analysis using mAb to F-VIII to visualize endothelial cells and mAb to CD68 antigens for macrophages. Statistical analysis showed only a positive correlation between TAMs and MAI (p = 0.004). These results support the notion that intensity of tumor angiogenesis does not provide additional prognostic significance, while TAMs may play a positive role in breast cancer micro system since they regulate tumor proliferation.

Expression of monocyte chemotactic protein-1 in human invasive ductal breast cancer

Monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) is a chemokine involved in the macrophage infiltration of tumor tissue. Tumor associated macrophages (TAMs) are a population of mononuclear-phagocytic cells, which can express complex functions related to tumor biology. The present study was designed to analyse the expression of MCP-1 in parenchymal and stromal elements on frozen sections of 27 breast invasive ductal carcinomas not otherwise specified (NOS) by immunohistochemistry. The expression of MCP-1 in tumor parenchyma and the degree of tumor differentiation were assessed. MCP-1 was detected in the parenchyma in 15 of 27 ductal carcinomas. Positive immunoreactivity manifested as diffuse, homogeneous, moderate or strong, cytoplasmic staining, confined to tumor epithelium. Generally, MCP-1-negative tumors tended to be well differentiated, while chemokine-positive tumors exhibited a low level of differentiation. MCP-1 immunoreactivity was also present in TAMs (CD68 positive cells) in 23 of 27 tumors, and in endothelial cells in 11 of 27 tumors. These results indicate that parenchymal and, more variably, stromal elements of human invasive ductal carcinomas NOS can express MCP-1 in vivo. Additionally, these findings suggest that MCP-1 expression in tumor parenchyma is correlated with the histological grade of ductal invasive breast carcinoma.

Epidermal growth factor-receptor expression correlates with tumor cell proliferation and prognosis in gastric cancer

Currently, the most accurate prognostic indicator in gastric cancer is stage. Studies on proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in gastric cancer have demonstrated that the PCNA labeling index correlates with depth of invasion, organ metastasis, vascular invasion, and tumor stage, suggesting that this marker may be a valuable prognostic factor. Epidermal growth factor (EGF) promotes the growth of cells of both ectodermal and mesodermal origin, and plays an important role in cellular proliferation and differentiation. Furthermore, there has been increasing evidence that growth factors and their receptors are involved in carcinogenesis. The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between expression of the EGF-receptor (EGF-r) and proliferative activity (PCNA labeling index) in gastric cancer by immunohistochemical analysis. Our preliminary results on 56 gastric cancers indicate that the PCNA labeling index correlates with EGF-r immunoreactivity. Furthermore, survival was significantly lower in patients with EGF-r positive tumors and a high PCNA labeling index. These in situ observations suggest that EGF-r may play an important role in the growth regulation of human gastric carcinomas.

Nuclear grade in invasive ductal breast carcinoma. Comparative study on nuclear grade and morphometric parameters, hormonal receptor status, flow cytometric analysis and lectin histochemistry

Histologic and nuclear grading (NG) have been widely used to predict the prognosis in patients with advanced breast cancer. However, NG has been criticized as a non-standard (several grading schemes used) and subjective (significant interobserver variability) method for predicting the biologic behavior of this tumor. Our results on 106 invasive ductal breast carcinomas demonstrate that NG correlates with morphometric prognostic index (MPI) (p < 0.007) (lower value of MPI is connected with lower NG of 1-2 and better prognosis), with estrogen receptor (p < 0.0002) and progesteron receptor status (p < 0.04) (hormonal receptor positive tumors having lower NG). NG correlates with s-phase fraction (SPF), p < 0.04, values lower than 9.6% corresponding to lower NG. We consider NG to give important information about the biologic behavior of the tumors under observation, demonstrating a good correlation with more established parameters such as MPI and SPF.