Chromosome analysis were carried out on peripheral blood leukocytes of breast cancer patient during the irradiation therapy after unilateral simple mastectomy. The observations were made at intervals varying from one to 5 weeks during the therapy and one month after the completion of tile treatment. During the first and second weeks of treatment normal metaphase was noted and during the 4th and 5th weeks, there were no mitotic figures from the cell population. The chromosomal aberrations found after 3 weeks of treatment were, 11% of simple chromatid breaks, 7% of chromatid interchanges (translocations) and 8% of fragments. One month after the completion of the course of treatment showed a return of mitosis and that total chromatid breaks had decreased to 5%. Radiation effects on cell division and chromosome aberration are discussed.
Breast Neoplasms/genetics* ; Breast Neoplasms/radiotherapy ; Breast Neoplasms/surgery ; Carcinoma, Intraductal, Noninfiltrating/genetics* ; Carcinoma, Intraductal, Noninfiltrating/radiotherapy ; Carcinoma, Intraductal, Noninfiltrating/surgery ; Case Report ; Chromosome Aberrations* ; Female ; Human ; Leukocytes/ultrastructure* ; Middle Age

OBJECTIVETo investigate the relationship of telomerase genes and the malignant transformation of atypical mammary ductal hyperplasia.

METHODSTelomerase genes hTR and hTRT in 50 cases of mammary hyperplasia (the cases included 6 benign hyperplasia, 9 mild atypical hyperplasia, 12 medium atypical hyperplasia, 23 severe atypical hyperplasia) and 26 cases of breast carcinoma were detected by in situ hybridization.

RESULTSThe expression of hTR and hTRT mRNA were weak or negative in benign hyperplasia (1/6, 0), weaker in mild-moderate atypical hyperplasia (2/9, 1/9, 4/12, and 3/12), strong in severe atypical hyperplasia (14/23, 60.9% and 12/23, 52.1%), while very strong expression (23/26, 88.5% and 21/25, 80.8%) in carcinoma of the breast. The difference between mild-moderate atypical hyperplasia, invasive ductal carcinoma and severe atypical hyperplasia was significant (P < 0.05) and the difference between severe atypital hyperplasia and intraductal carcinoma was not significant (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSTelmerase genes (hTR, hTRT) expression is closely related to the malignant transformation of atypical hyperplasia. The reactivated telomerase may play a crucial role in the development of breast cancer.

Breast Neoplasms ; enzymology ; pathology ; Carcinoma, Intraductal, Noninfiltrating ; enzymology ; pathology ; DNA-Binding Proteins ; Female ; Gene Expression ; Humans ; RNA, Messenger ; Telomerase ; genetics

OBJECTIVETo investigate c-myc and CCNE2 gene amplifications and their relationship in breast cancer.

METHODSSixty-six infiltrating ductal breast carcinomas with foci of ductal carcinoma in situ components collected from January 2005 to December 2007 were selected for tissue microarray and quantitative multi-gene FISH for c-myc and CCNE2 gene amplification, and the relationship with the clinicopathologic features was analyzed.

RESULTSOf the 66 cases, 18 (27.3%) showed c-myc amplification and 23 (34.8%) showed CCNE2 amplification. A strong correlation was found between c-myc and CCNE2 amplification (P < 0.01). The breast cancers showing c-myc and CCNE2 amplifications were all aneuploidy, and were HER2 positive (P < 0.05). Tumors with c-myc amplification also showed higher Ki-67 index (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSC-myc and CCNE2 amplifications are common events in breast cancer, and they often coexist. C-myc and CCNE2 genes may play critical roles in the pathogenesis and development of breast cancer through unique and overlapping signaling pathways.

Aneuploidy ; Breast Neoplasms ; genetics ; Carcinoma in Situ ; genetics ; Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast ; genetics ; Carcinoma, Intraductal, Noninfiltrating ; genetics ; Cyclins ; genetics ; Female ; Gene Amplification ; Genes, myc ; Humans ; In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence ; methods ; Tissue Array Analysis

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of chromogenic in-situ hybridization (CISH) in detecting HER2 gene amplification in breast carcinomas.

METHODSHER2 oncogene amplification and its protein expression in 165 cases of breast carcinoma were investigated by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and CISH.

RESULTS(1) CISH did not detect HER2 gene amplification in 107 cases of IHC negative tumors and 24 cases of IHC 1+ tumors. (2) CISH identified high copy numbers of HER2 gene amplification in 21/22 (95.5%) cases with IHC 3+. (3) In 12 HIC 2+ cases, CISH identified 3 cases of high copy number amplification, 6 cases of low copy number amplification and 3 cases without amplification.

CONCLUSIONSHER2 gene amplification detection by CISH is highly sensitive and has a high concordance with IHC detection of the protein expression. It is concluded that CISH is a tool to evaluate HER2 gene status in breast cancer and can be an implement in conventional pathology laboratories.

Breast Neoplasms ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Carcinoma, Intraductal, Noninfiltrating ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Carcinoma, Lobular ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Chromogenic Compounds ; Female ; Gene Amplification ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; methods ; In Situ Hybridization ; methods ; Receptor, ErbB-2 ; genetics ; metabolism

The study of microsatellite instability (MSI) has provided the evidence to support asequential, progressive pathway for the development of cancer. In this study, we analyzed the role of MSI at chromosome 11p15.5 using microdissection of paraffin-embedded tissue from 68 matched normal and breast tumor samples. Components of intraductal, invasive and metastatic foci in lymph node were assessed for MSI using the polymorphic markers D11S922, tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and D11S988. We found that MSI at D11S922 was relatively high incidence than other two markers and increased during breast cancer progression. The overall frequency of MSI at D11S922 was 26.7% in pure intraductal carcinoma, 36.4% in invasive carcinoma, and 40.0% in invasive carcinoma with metastases. We observed no significant correlation between MSI at chromosome 11p15.5 and the patient's age, tumor size, histological grade, or lymph node metastasis. We compared the MSI incidence with the expression of prognostic markers, such as p53, c-erb B2, estrogen receptor, and progesterone receptor, and found no significant correlation. We suggest that the MSI of chromosome 11p15.5 is increased during breast cancer progression, but long-term follow-up study would establish whether MSI at chromosome 11p15.5 could be useful as a potential prognostic marker for breast cancer.
Breast Neoplasms/*genetics/metabolism/pathology ; Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast/*genetics/metabolism/pathology ; Carcinoma, Intraductal, Noninfiltrating/*genetics/metabolism/pathology ; *Chromosomes, Human, Pair 11 ; Female ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Microsatellite Repeats ; Prognosis ; Protein p53/metabolism ; Receptor, erbB-2/metabolism ; Receptors, Estrogen/metabolism ; Receptors, Progesterone/metabolism

OBJECTIVEThis study was designed to investigate the significance of hTERT mRNA in breast carcinogenesis and to explore the diagnostic efficacy, and to study the effect of tumor suppressor gene p53 on the expression of hTERT mRNA.

METHODSThe expression of hTERT mRNA was examined by in situ hybridization in 12 cases of normal breast tissue nearby cancer, 7 of simple ductal hyperplasia, 20 of atypical hyperplasia, 18 of ductal carcinoma in situ and 25 with invasive ductal carcinoma. The expression of p53 protein were examined by immunohistochemistry in 43 carcinomas.

RESULTShTERT was not detected in normal breast tissue nearby cancer and simple ductal hyperplasia. The positive rate of hTERT mRNA in atypical hyperplasia, ductal carcinoma in situ and invasive ductal carcinoma were 25.0%, 83.3% and 88.0%, respectively. The prevalence and intensity of hTERT mRNA expression were much greater in carcinoma than those in simple or atypical hyperplasia and normal breast tissue nearby cancer (P < 0.05). The expression of hTERT was not correlated with tumor size and lymph node metastasis (P > 0.05). The positive correlation between hTERT mRNA and p53 was found in breast carcinoma (r = 0.5540, P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONhTERT mRNA expression is closely related to the malignant transformation of breast tissue. Semi-quantitative detection of hTERT mRNA expression in situ is helpful in differentiated diagnosis of carcinoma in situ and atypical hyperplasia. Inactivation of p53 may play a role in the transcriptive activation of hTERT gene in breast carcinoma.

Adult ; Breast ; metabolism ; pathology ; Breast Neoplasms ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast ; metabolism ; pathology ; Carcinoma, Intraductal, Noninfiltrating ; metabolism ; pathology ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Disease Progression ; Humans ; Hyperplasia ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Middle Aged ; RNA, Messenger ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Telomerase ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Tumor Suppressor Protein p53

Breast Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; genetics ; metabolism ; Carcinoma, Intraductal, Noninfiltrating ; genetics ; metabolism ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 17 ; genetics ; Female ; Genetic Heterogeneity ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Polyploidy ; Receptor, ErbB-2 ; genetics ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo investigate the methylation status of Runx3 promoter and Runx3 expression in breast lesion tissues.

METHODSOne hundred and fourteen breast lesions, including 35 cases of fibroadenoma, 39 cases of intraductal carcinoma, 40 cases of invasive ductal carcinoma, and 33 cases of normal breast tissue from Fabruary 2010 to August 2012 were included in this study. Runx3 protein expression was assessed by immunohistochemical SP method; whereas methylation of Runx3 promoter was assessed by high resolution melting (HRM) analysis.

RESULTSRunx3 protein was mainly expressed in the cytoplasm of ductal epithelial cells. The expression rates of Runx3 in normal breast tissue, fibroadenoma, ductal carcinoma in situ, invasive ductal carcinoma were 87.9% (29/33), 85.7% (30/35), 53.8% (21/39), and 40.0% (16/40) respectively. The methylation rates of Runx3 promoter were 12.1% (4/33), 20.0% (7/35), 46.2% (18/39), and 57.5% (23/40), respectively. Correlation analysis between promoter methylation and protein expression of Runx3 in different breast tissue showed the r value in normal breast tissue, fibroadenoma, ductal carcinoma in situ and invasive ductal carcinoma was -0.431 (P = 0.012), -0.408 (P = 0.015), -0.589 (P = 0.000) and -0.743 (P = 0.000) respectively.

CONCLUSIONSRunx3 protein expression shows a downward trend in ductal carcinoma in situ and invasive ductal carcinoma, meanwhile its promoter methylation increases significantly. The methylation of Runx3 promoter may be one of the important factors in the occurrence and development of breast cancer.

Breast ; metabolism ; Breast Neoplasms ; metabolism ; Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast ; metabolism ; Carcinoma, Intraductal, Noninfiltrating ; metabolism ; Core Binding Factor Alpha 3 Subunit ; genetics ; metabolism ; DNA Methylation ; Female ; Fibroadenoma ; metabolism ; Humans ; Neoplasm Proteins ; metabolism ; Promoter Regions, Genetic

Breast Neoplasms ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Carcinoma, Intraductal, Noninfiltrating ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; DNA Methylation ; Female ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Genes, Tumor Suppressor ; Humans ; Precancerous Conditions ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Promoter Regions, Genetic ; genetics ; RNA, Messenger ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; rho GTP-Binding Proteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics

OBJECTIVETo explore the relevance between the promoter methylation status of Notch1 gene and the invasive ductal carcinoma and ductal hyperplastic lesions of the breast.

METHODSMethylation status of Notch1 gene in human breast invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC, n = 89), ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS, n = 20), atypical ductal hyperplasia (ADH, n = 11) and usual ductal hyperplasia (UDH, n = 20) were quantitatively evaluated by MALDI-TOF MS. The expression of Notch1 protein was detected by immunohistochemical stain (SP method).

RESULTSPositive expression rates of Notch1 protein in IDC and DCIS were 91.0% (81/89) and 75.0% (15/20), respectively, which were significantly higher than those of ADH (4/11) and UDH (30.0%, 6/20;P < 0.05). Notch1 protein expression was correlated significantly with lymph node metastasis, pathological grades and TNM stages of IDC. The mean methylation levels of Notch1 gene at CpG_3, CpG_4.5 and CpG_8 significantly decreased in IDC group compared with those of DCIS, ADH and UDH groups (P < 0.0083). In breast carcinomas, the mean methylation rates of Notch1 gene at CpG_4.5, CpG_10.11, and CpG_14.15.16 loci in cases with axillary node metastasis were significantly lower than those without axillary node metastasis (P < 0.05); and the methylation rates at CpG_14.15.16 and CpG_18 loci in stage Iwere lower than that in stage II, further lower than that in stage III (P < 0.05); and that in CpG_1.2, CpG_12.13 loci in grade I (highly-differentiated group) were higher than that in grade II (moderate-differentiated group) and grade III (poorly-differentiated group) (P < 0.05); and the methylation rates at CpG_3, CpG_8 and CpG_14.15.16 loci in ER(+) PR(+) HER2(-) group were lower than that in ER(-) PR(-) HER2(+) group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSThere is an overall hypomethylation of Notch1 gene in breast invasive ductal carcinomas with corresponding over-expression of Notch1 protein. This inverse correlation show that the alteration of protein expression result from hypomethylation oncogene Notch1, and this change may have important significance in breast tumorigenesis and the development. Specific hypomethylation at CpG_3, CpG_ 4.5 and CpG_8 loci of Notch1 gene may play a role in the pathogenesis of breast carcinoma, suggesting the progression and/or malignant transformation from benign glandular lesions of the breast.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Breast ; pathology ; Breast Neoplasms ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Carcinoma, Intraductal, Noninfiltrating ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; CpG Islands ; genetics ; DNA Methylation ; DNA, Neoplasm ; genetics ; Disease Progression ; Female ; Humans ; Hyperplasia ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; Precancerous Conditions ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Promoter Regions, Genetic ; Receptor, Notch1 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Young Adult