Transgelin: a potentially useful diagnostic marker differentially expressed in triple-negative and non-triple-negative breast cancers.

Triple negative (TN) (estrogen receptor [ER], progesterone receptor [PR] and HER2-) are highly aggressive, rapidly growing, hormone-unresponsive tumors diagnosed at later stage that affect younger women with shorter overall survival. Most TN tumors are of the basal type. For the remainder, identification of target markers for effective treatment strategies remains a challenge.

Ki-67 expression in axillary lymph node metastases in breast cancer is prognostically significant.

Several studies have documented the prognostic significance of cell proliferation in breast cancer and its positive relationship with tumor grade, size, mitotic activity, hormonal and Her-2 status, and tumor progression. The Ki-67 antigen provides an accurate measure of the growth fraction of a tumor. Ki-67 expression in 103 primary breast carcinomas and their corresponding axillary lymph node metastases was correlated with age, tumor grade, size, estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PgR), p53, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), Bcl-2, Her-2 status, and patients' overall survival.

Prognostic significance of Bcl-2 in invasive mammary carcinomas: a comparative clinicopathologic study between "triple-negative" and non-"triple-negative" tumors.

Bcl-2 is a tumorigenic protein that is expressed in 25% to 50% of breast cancers. Although its expression has been widely accepted as a favorable prognostic marker, its protective mechanism of action remains unclear. "Triple-negative" tumors are an aggressive subgroup known to carry a poor prognosis.

Clinicopathological characteristics of triple-negative invasive mammary carcinomas in African-American versus Caucasian women.

African-American (AA) women are more likely to have late stage, aggressive, rapidly growing, and less hormone-responsive breast tumors. An aggressive subtype of cancer, known as "Triple-Negative" (TN), that is negative for Her-2 and for estrogen and progesterone receptors (ER and PR), is reported to be more common in AA women. We examined the clinical, histopathologic, and prognostic features of TN tumors in AA and Caucasian women.

A newly proposed semi-automated method of grading invasive lobular carcinoma: a unifying concept and correlation with prognostic markers and patient survival.

Invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) of the breast is currently graded according to the Nottingham modification of the Scarff-Bloom-Richardson system (SBR). This system involves subjective evaluation of 3 morphologic features: tubule formation, nuclear pleomorphism, and mitosis. Our recently proposed semi-automated Nuclear and Proliferation Index [N+P] grading system for IDC has demonstrated agreement among grades and prognostic markers with better prediction of patient survival than the SBR system.

Biphasic acute myeloid leukemia with near-tetraploidy and immunophenotypic transformation.

This report describes a case of acute myeloid leukemia (subtype M1) with biphasic morphology. The bone marrow biopsy showed 2 distinct regions of blasts, one containing large cells and the other small cells. Morphometric and DNA ploidy analysis showed that the mean nuclear area and mean DNA index for the large cell region were 2-fold higher than those for the small cell region.

HB-EGF directs stromal cell polyploidy and decidualization via cyclin D3 during implantation.

Stromal cell polyploidy is a unique phenomenon that occurs during uterine decidualization following embryo implantation, although the developmental mechanism still remains elusive. The general consensus is that the aberrant expression and altered functional activity of cell cycle regulatory molecules at two particular checkpoints G1 to S and G2 to M in the cell cycle play an important role in the development of cellular polyploidy. Despite the compelling evidence of intrinsic cell cycle alteration, it has been implicated that the development of cellular polyploidy may be controlled by specific actions of extracellular growth regulators.

A comparison of prognostic tumor markers obtained on image-guided breast biopsies and final surgical specimens.

Background: This study was initiated to determine whether tumor markers obtained on image-guided breast biopsy specimens provide accurate prognostic information for women with invasive breast cancer.

Methods: Prognostic tumor markers on preoperative image-guided biopsy and final surgical specimens were compared in 44 patients with invasive breast cancer.

Results: Progesterone receptor (PR) discordance was 18%.

Evidence for coordinated interaction of cyclin D3 with p21 and cdk6 in directing the development of uterine stromal cell decidualization and polyploidy during implantation.

Uterine decidualization, characterized by stromal cell proliferation, and differentiation into specialized type of cells (decidual cells) with polyploidy, during implantation is critical to the pregnancy establishment in mice. The mechanisms by which the cell cycle events govern these processes are poorly understood. The cell cycle is tightly regulated at two particular checkpoints, G1-S and G2-M phases.