Prevalence of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations in Korean breast cancer patients.

The incidence of breast cancer in Korea has been increasing in recent years, such that it is now the most common female cancer. Breast cancer in Korea is characterized by an earlier age of onset than in Western countries, suggesting that it would be related with genetic background. We assayed germline mutations in the BRCA genes to evaluate their genetic pathology in Korean breast cancer patients.

Significance of mismatch repair protein expression in the chemotherapeutic response of sporadic invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast.

The mismatch repair (MMR) gene plays a key role in the correction of DNA damage, and the loss of MMR has been implicated in resistance to a variety of chemotherapeutic drugs. The purpose of this study was to assess whether the reduced expression of hMLH1 and/or hMSH2 affects the chemotherapeutic responsiveness of sporadic invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast. Immunohistochemical studies were performed on 71 histologic specimens of breast cancer taken from the patients treated with surgery and subsequent cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and 5-fluorouracil (CMF) or cyclophosphamide, Adriamycin, and 5-fluorouracil (CAF) chemotherapy for stage II or III primary breast cancer.

The meaning of the c-kit proto-oncogene product in malignant transformation in human mammary epithelium.

To evaluate the relationship between the c-kit proto-oncogene product and malignant transformation of human breast tissue, we examined the immunohistochemical expression of the c-kit proto-oncogene product in both malignant and non-malignant breast tissues. The immunohistochemical expression of the c-kit proto-oncogene product in 40 primary breast cancer tissues (22 axillary lymph nodes negative, 18 lymph nodes positive), in 18 corresponding axillary lymph nodes, and in 10 distant metastastic tissues were studied using an anti-c-kit proto-oncogene product antibody in comparison with 20 normal and 20 benign breast tissues. The mean values of immunoreactive score (IRS) were compared.