Maspin expression is frequent and correlates with basal markers in triple-negative breast cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Maspin is a unique member of the serine protease inhibitor superfamily and its expression is found in myoepithelial cells of normal mammary glands; therefore, it has been considered to be a myoepithelial marker. We previously reported that maspin was frequently expressed in biologically aggressive breast cancers. In turn, triple-negative (TN) breast cancer is a subtype of tumor with aggressive clinical behavior and shows frequent expression of basal markers. We hypothesized that maspin expression may be frequent and correlate with basal rather than myoepithelial markers in TN breast cancer.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Paraffin-embedded 135 TN invasive ductal carcinoma tissue samples were immunohistochemically investigated using the Dako Envision+ kit and primary antibodies for maspin, basal (CK5/6, EGFR, CK14) and myoepithelial markers (p63, CD10). The correlation between maspin expression and relapse-free survival (RFS) was investigated by the log-rank test.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The positive rate for maspin was 85.9% and significantly correlated with younger age (<it>P </it>= 0.0015), higher histological grade (<it>P </it>= 0.0013), CK5/6 positivity (<it>P </it>< 0.0001), CK14 positivity (<it>P </it>= 0.0034) and the basal-like subtype defined by CK5/6, EGFR and CK14 positivity (<it>P </it>= 0.013). The positive rates for CK5/6, EGFR, CK14, CD10 and p63 were 59.2%, 48.9%, 34.1%, 17.8% and 12.6%, respectively. There was no significant correlation between maspin expression and RFS.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The positive rate for maspin is the highest among known basal and myoepithelial markers, and strongly correlates with basal markers in TN breast cancer. These results suggested that maspin could be a candidate for a therapeutic target for TN breast cancer.</p

Mucocele-like lesions of the breast: a long-term follow-up study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Mucocele-like lesions (MLL) of the breast were originally described as benign lesions composed of multiple cysts lined by uniform flat to cuboidal epithelium with extravasated mucin, but subsequent reports described the coexistence of columnar cell lesions (CCL), atypical ductal hyperplasia (ADH) and ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). Several reports have investigated whether core biopsy can diagnose MLL reliably; however, there is only one report with a long-term follow-up after excision of MLL. We report here 15 surgically excised MLL with a long-term follow-up.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>Fifteen lesions diagnosed as MLL from 13 patients who had undergone excisional biopsy between January 2001 and December 2006 were retrieved and followed-up for 24-99 months (median 63.8). Two lesions were accompanied with CCL, 5 with ADH and 3 with low grade DCIS. Four lesions (2 ADH, 2 DCIS) were additionally resected and their histology revealed 2 ADH, one DCIS and one MLL with CCL. Of 4 lesions (3 ADH, one DCIS) without additional resection, one lesion (ADH) relapsed accompanied with DCIS at 37 months after excision.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>MLL were frequently accompanied with CCL, ADH or low grade DCIS. Complete resection may be recommended in case of MLL with ADH or DCIS because of intralesional heterogeneity and the probabilities of relapse.</p

Circulating microRNA Panel as a Potential Novel Biomarker for Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Diagnosis

A lack of reliable biomarkers for oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) poses a major clinical issue. The sensitivity and specificity of classical serum tumor markers, such as the squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCC-Ag), are quite poor, especially for early detection. This study aimed to identify specific serum miRNAs potentially serving as OSCC biomarkers. The expression levels of candidate miRNAs in serum samples from 40 OSCC patients and 40 healthy controls were quantitatively analyzed via microarray and reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) analyses. To enhance the accuracy of detection, we used Fisher’s linear discriminant analysis to establish a diagnostic model that incorporated a combination of selected miRNAs. Consequently, miR-19a and miR-20a were significantly upregulated in the patient group (p = 0.014 and 0.036, respectively), whereas miR-5100 was downregulated (p = 0.001). We found that a combination of six miRNAs (miR-24, miR-20a, miR-122, miR-150, miR-4419a, and miR-5100) could distinguish between OSCC and the control group with a higher degree of accuracy (Area Under the Curve, AUC: 0.844, sensitivity: 55%, and specificity: 92.5%). Furthermore, compared to serum SCC antigen, the 6-miRNA panel could accurately detect the presence of OSCC. The present specific miRNAs panel may serve as a novel candidate biomarker of oral cancer

Circulating microRNA Panel as a Potential Novel Biomarker for Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Diagnosis

A lack of reliable biomarkers for oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) poses a major clinical issue. The sensitivity and specificity of classical serum tumor markers, such as the squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCC-Ag), are quite poor, especially for early detection. This study aimed to identify specific serum miRNAs potentially serving as OSCC biomarkers. The expression levels of candidate miRNAs in serum samples from 40 OSCC patients and 40 healthy controls were quantitatively analyzed via microarray and reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) analyses. To enhance the accuracy of detection, we used Fisher&rsquo;s linear discriminant analysis to establish a diagnostic model that incorporated a combination of selected miRNAs. Consequently, miR-19a and miR-20a were significantly upregulated in the patient group (p = 0.014 and 0.036, respectively), whereas miR-5100 was downregulated (p = 0.001). We found that a combination of six miRNAs (miR-24, miR-20a, miR-122, miR-150, miR-4419a, and miR-5100) could distinguish between OSCC and the control group with a higher degree of accuracy (Area Under the Curve, AUC: 0.844, sensitivity: 55%, and specificity: 92.5%). Furthermore, compared to serum SCC antigen, the 6-miRNA panel could accurately detect the presence of OSCC. The present specific miRNAs panel may serve as a novel candidate biomarker of oral cancer