Immunohistochemical expression of uPA, PAl-1, cathepsin D and apoptotic cells in ductal carcinomain situ of the breast

Background We examined the relationship between biological markers, apoptotic indices and pathologic subtypes of ductal carcinomain situ (DCIS) of the breast. The tumor-biological factors can be divided into invasive and proliferative markers. We chose urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA), plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 (PAI-1) and Cathepsin D as invasive markers, and Ki-67 and C-erbB2 oncoproteins as proliferative factors for our study.