Background: The widespread use of diagnostic breast imaging has yielded an increase in the detection of in situ, microinvasive, and small invasive carcinomas and has provided opportunities to study the earliest stages of breast carcinoma development. The authors of this report analyzed the pathobiologic features of 577 minimal breast carcinomas (MBCs), including in situ carcinomas and invasive carcinomas < or =1 cm, according to the definition given by Hartmann in Cancer (1984;53:681-4).

Methods: Estrogen and progesterone receptors (ER and PR), proliferation index (PI), and p53 and neu expression were studied by immunohistochemical technique and measured by quantitative image analysis in 99 pure in situ carcinomas (ISCp); in 105 mixed invasive/in situ carcinomas, with a separate analysis of in situ (ISCm) and invasive (ICm) components; and in 373 invasive carcinomas < or =1 cm (IC). Follow-up data were available for 164 invasive carcinomas.

Results: A progressive increase in the levels of hormone steroid receptors, from the lowest in ISCm to the highest in IC, was observed (ER, P< 0.001; PR, P=0.005). Levels of PI and p53 expression were higher in ISCm than in the other categories (PI, P=0.007; p53, P=0.046). Overexpression of neu was greater in ICm than in IC (P=0.013). Younger women (< or =40 years) with invasive carcinoma had worse biologic profiles, with lower ER (P < 0.001) and higher PI (P=0.021), neu (P=0.008), and p53 (P=0.040). It was demonstrated clinically that PI and neu were the biologic markers with the highest predictive prognostic values in univariate analysis (PI for recurrence, P < 0.015; neu for recurrence and overall survival, P < 0.001 and P < 0.007, respectively) and in multivariate analysis (neu for recurrence and overall survival, P < 0.007 and P < 0.017, respectively).

Conclusions: Biologic phenotypes of MBC can be interpreted as reflecting a dimension of neoplastic progression capacity that is independent of tumor size. This study suggests that biologic markers can be integrated with traditional pathologic indicators for accurate staging of patients.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/(sici)1097-0142(19980701)83:1<89::aid-cncr12>3.0.co;2-8DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

breast carcinoma
12
invasive carcinomas
12
situ carcinomas
12
minimal breast
8
biologic markers
8
neu recurrence
8
recurrence survival
8
carcinomas
7
invasive
6
neu
6

Similar Publications

Today, cancer has become one of the leading global tragedies. It occurs when a small number of cells in the body mutate, causing some of them to evade the body's immune system and proliferate uncontrollably. Even more irritating is the fact that patients with cancers frequently relapse after conventional chemotherapy and radiotherapy, leading to additional suffering.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Colon adenocarcinoma (COAD) is a malignancy with a high mortality rate and complex biological characteristics and heterogeneity, which poses challenges for clinical treatment. Anoikis is a type of programmed cell death that occurs when cells lose their attachment to the extracellular matrix (ECM), and it plays a crucial role in tumor metastasis. However, the specific biological link between anoikis and COAD, as well as its mechanisms in tumor progression, remains unclear, making it a potential new direction for therapeutic strategy research.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: While mutations in the gene play important roles in human breast carcinogenesis, gene alterations are recognized as actionable mutations for clinical cancer treatment. We aimed to elucidate the role of PIK3R1 in cell proliferation on breast carcinoma and to correlate the PIK3R1 expression with patients' outcome using human tumor tissue arrays.

Methods: Using human BT-474 (estrogen receptor (ER)+/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-high) breast carcinoma cell line as model, the role of PIK3R1 in cell proliferation was elucidated by knock-down of the gene (ΔPIK3R1) in this cell line.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Single-cell RNA sequencing elucidates cellular plasticity in esophageal small cell carcinoma following chemotherapy treatment.

Front Genet

January 2025

Medical Research Institute, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital (Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences), Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.

Small cell carcinoma of the esophagus (SCCE) is a rare and aggressively progressing malignancy that presents considerable clinical challenges.Although chemotherapy can effectively manage symptoms during the earlystages of SCCE, its long-term effectiveness is notably limited, with theunderlying mechanisms remaining largely undefined. In this study, weemployed single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) to analyze SCCE samplesfrom a single patient both before and after chemotherapy treatment.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The article provides an overview of the current understanding of the interplay between metabolic pathways and immune function in the context of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). It highlights recent advancements in single-cell and spatial transcriptomics technologies, which have revolutionized the analysis of tumor heterogeneity and the immune microenvironment in TNBC. The review emphasizes the crucial role of metabolic reprogramming in modulating immune cell function, discussing how specific metabolic pathways, such as glycolysis, lipid metabolism, and amino acid metabolism, can directly impact the activity and phenotypes of various immune cell populations within the TNBC tumor microenvironment.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!