Prognostic evaluation of oestrogen-regulated protein immunoreactivity in ductal invasive (NOS) breast cancer

Determination of steroid receptors and several oestrogen-regulated proteins in mammary carcinomas is useful in the prediction of their evolution and of the likely success of endocrine therapy. Cathepsin D (Cat D), pS2 peptide and heat shock protein 27 (Hsp 27) were detected immunohistochemically in 63 infiltrating ductal (NOS) breast carcinomas, and our results were qualitatively correlated with several clinicopathological indicators and patients' overall survival. Cat D immunostaining of tumour cells was strongly associated with axillary nodal involvement (Pf=0.0005) and so, it is directly connected with the metastatic capacity of malignant cells. pS2 immunoreactivity was correlated with oestrogen and progesterone receptor positivity (Pf=0.0009 and Pf=0.05 respectively) and, nonsignificantly, with good differentiation of the tumours (Pf=0.06). Neoplastic cells expressing this protein are therefore characterised by a highly organised state of cellular physiology. Hsp 27 was expressed predominantly in tumours with one to four infiltrated lymph nodes (Pt=0.05), and Hsp 27-positive patients were inclined to rather short survival, possibly due to chemotherapy resistance. In future, prognostic estimation of each one of the examined markers should be performed in specific large subgroups of patients. The findings of this study contribute to the establishment of criteria by which these subgroups should be formed.