Decreased expression of stem cell markers by simvastatin in 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA)-induced breast cancer.

Simvastatin, a competitive inhibitor of HMG-CoA reductase widely used in the treatment and prevention of hyperlipidemia-related diseases, has recently been associated to in vitro anticancer stem cell (CSC) actions. However, these effects have not been confirmed in vivo. To assess in vivo anti-CSC effects of simvastatin, female Sprague-Dawley rats with 7,12-dimethyl-benz(a)anthracene (DMBA)-induced mammary cancer and control animals were treated for 14 days with either simvastatin (20 or 40 mg/kg/day) or soybean oil (N = 60).

Immunostaining with D2-40 improves evaluation of lymphovascular invasion, but may not predict sentinel lymph node status in early breast cancer.

Background: Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy is a widely used diagnostic procedure in the management of early breast cancer. When SLN is free of metastasis, complete axillary dissection may be skipped for staging in clinically N0 patients, allowing a more conservative procedure. Histological tumor features that could reliably predict SLN status have not yet been established.

Use of p63 and CD10 in the differential diagnosis of papillary neoplasms of the breast.

Papillary neoplasms of the breast represent a complex spectrum ranging from benign to malignant lesions. The myoepithelial cell (MEC) layer is generally continuous in papillomas and increasingly discontinuous to absent in atypical and malignant counterparts. Identification of MECs can be difficult on morphological grounds and currently relies on immunomarkers.

p63 and CD10: reliable markers in discriminating benign sclerosing lesions from tubular carcinoma of the breast?

The immunohistochemical detection of myoepithelial cells in benign sclerosing lesions of the breast is useful in distinguishing them from tubular carcinoma. So far, this detection has been carried out using antibodies against cytoskeletal proteins, such as alpha-smooth muscle actin (1A4) and calponin. However, the specificity of these markers has been questioned since they may be expressed in stromal myofibroblasts and vascular smooth muscle.