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Clinical significance of aromatase protein expression in axillary node negative breast cancer

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Abstract

Purpose

Aromatase catalyzes the conversion of androgens to estrogens; its high expression in breast cancers may be responsible for the local high levels of estrogen and may promote tumor growth and progression; however, the clinical importance of aromatase remains unclear and needs to be further researched.

Methods

By immunochemistry, we detected aromatase, MMP2 and MMP9 immunoreactivity in 244 axillary lymph node negative breast cancers.

Results

Aromatase immunoreactivity was positively associated with co-expression of MMP2 and MMP9 (MMP2/9) in the estrogen receptor and/or progestin receptor- (ER/PR) positive patients (P < 0.05), but not in the ER and PR negative patients (P > 0.05); aromatase status positively associated with tumor size in the postmenopausal patients (P < 0.05) but not in the premenopausal patients (P > 0.05). The proportional hazards assumption was violated for aromatase status (global test, P < 0.05), and aromatase was an unfavorable prognostic factor for disease-free survival (DFS) (P = 0.04) in multivariate analysis of time-dependent non-proportional Cox regression. In the ER/PR-positive patients, positive aromatase staining was significantly associated with decreased overall survival (OS) (P = 0.04), but there was no such association in the ER and PR negative patients (P > 0.05).

Conclusions

Our study suggested that local estrogen production by aromatase plays important roles in the growth and invasiveness of breast cancer; tumor aromatase status may be indicative of breast cancer prognosis in some patients.

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Acknowledgments

Funded by Outstanding Young Investigator Award of National Natural Science Foundation of China (30025015), Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai, China (32R14021) and Science Research Foundation for Youths of Fudan University, Shanghai, China (EXF000312).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Breast Surgery, Cancer Hospital/Cancer Institute, Fudan University, 399 Ling-Ling Road, Shanghai, 200032, People’s Republic of China

    Jingsong Lu, Hecheng Li, Genhong Di, Jiong Wu, Kunwei Sheng, Qixia Han, Zhenzhou Shen & Zhiming Shao

  2. Department of Surgery, Magang Hospital, Ma’anshan, 243000, People’s Republic of China

    Daocheng Cao

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  1. Jingsong Lu
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  2. Hecheng Li
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Correspondence to Zhiming Shao.

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Lu, J., Li, H., Cao, D. et al. Clinical significance of aromatase protein expression in axillary node negative breast cancer. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol 133, 401–409 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-006-0186-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-006-0186-5

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