Lack of Prognostic Value of Topoisomerase II Alpha in Patients with Breast Cancer: Analysis with Tissue Microarray

Background: The creation of a tissue microarray (TMA) allows for the rapid immunohistochemical analysis of thousands of tissue samples in a parallel fashion. This study applied TMA in order to analyse the topoisomerase II alpha status in breast cancer and to elucidate its relationship in breast cancer biology. Patients and Methods: Archived tissue specimens from 94 patients with primary invasive breast cancer were selected and the topoisomerase II alpha expression was analysed by TMA. Data concerning age, oestrogen receptor status, histological grading and TNM staging were also collected. Results: There were 20 patients (21.3%) with 1+ expression in topoisomerase II alpha, 33 patients (35.1%) with 2+ expression and 41 patients (43.6%) with 3+ expression. By multivariate analysis, oestrogen receptor status, histological grading and TNM staging were found to be significantly related to the overall five-year survival rate. Conclusion: Topoisomerase II alpha expression failed to demonstrate prognostic value in patients with breast cancer. Breast cancer is a clinically heterogeneous disease that may