Prognostic classification of breast Carcinomas using immunohistochemical markers

• Grant number: 12/09317-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): October 01, 2012
• Effective date (End): March 31, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Debora Aparecida Pires de Campos Zuccari
• Grantee: Maria Laura Lazaretti Perini
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina de São José do Rio Preto (FAMERP). Secretaria de Desenvolvimento Econômico (São Paulo - Estado). São José do Rio Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Breast cancer is a global concern, being the most common cancer among women and the fifth leading cause of cancer-related death. As the earlier detection of breast carcinomas advance and improvements of treatments for the disease, the search for an accurate determination of the prognosis of each patient has become even more important. Many immunohistochemical markers have been proposed and now it is well established an immunohistochemical profile for the use in clinical routine for patients with breast cancer. The most commonly markers used are the estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR). The proto-oncogene c-erb B-2 or HER-2 oncogene / has been globally studied in the context of breast neoplasms, because its amplification is primarily this class tumor. The proto-oncogene c-erb B-2 or HER-2 oncogene has been globally studied in the context of breast neoplasm since its amplification occurs primarily in this class tumor. From these markers was observed that the association would have an interesting prognostic value. The claudins are the main components of the "tight junctions" and the loss or decreased expression can reduce cell adhesion and thereby increase the potential of invasion and motility of tumor cells, associating claudinas to the process of epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT). It is considered that the high mortality rate in breast cancer is due to tumor invasion and metastatic potential. It is believed that this process involves EMT, transitional mechanism that occurs during carcinogenesis characterized by changes in epithelial to mesenchymal phenotype, causing the loss or reduced expression of markers of epithelial cells. EMT evidence linking the stem cells of breast cancer (BCSCs) showed that induction of this process in mammary epithelial cells transformed in vitro, generate cells with properties of BCSCs. In breast tumors, a small subpopulation of cancer cells with antigenic phenotype CD44 + / CD24, is present. Thus, the objective of this study is: Check the immunoexpression of c-erb2 markers, progesterone receptor, estrogen receptor, CD44, CD24, claudin 3, 4 and 7, E-cadherin, N-cadherin, vimentin, and markers of EMT Twist (Zeb 1 and Zeb 2) in breast invasive ductal carcinoma grade I, II, III and IV in ductal hyperplasia and relate them to prognosis, through the evaluation of recurrence, metastasis, and survival time of the disease. The data obtained may be correlated with clinical information, and enable, for example, the distinction between highly invasive tumors or low invasiveness. Thus, the study of the activity of these proteins in mammary tumor cells, attempts to correlate its expression with tumor progression.(AU)