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Expression of ALDH1 in axillary lymph node metastases is a prognostic factor of poor clinical outcome in breast cancer patients with 1–3 lymph node metastases

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Abstract

Background

Recently, evidence in support of the cancer stem cell (CSC) hypothesis has been accumulating. On the other hand, it has been reported that the expression of aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 (ALDH1) in primary breast cancer is a powerful predictor of a poor clinical outcome, and that breast cancer stem cells express ALDH1. According to the CSC hypothesis, development of metastases requires the dissemination of CSC that may remain dormant and be reactivated to cause tumor recurrence. In this study, we investigated whether the detection of CSC in axillary lymph node metastases (ALNM) might be a significant prognostic factor in patients with breast cancer.

Methods

From 1998 to 2006, 40 primary breast cancer patients with ALNM, the number of metastatic nodes varying in number from 1 to 3, underwent surgery at Okayama University; of these, 15 patients developed tumor recurrence. We retrospectively evaluated the common clinicopathological features and the expression of ER, HER2, ALDH1, and Ki67 in both the primary lesions and the ALNM, and analyzed the correlations between the expression of these biological markers and the disease-free survival (DFS).

Results

Expression of ALDH1 in the ALNM was significantly associated with the DFS (P = 0.037).

Conclusion

Evaluation of biomarker expression in ALNM could be useful for prognosis in breast cancer patients with 1–3 metastatic lymph nodes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of General Thoracic Surgery and Breast and Endocrine Surgery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2-5-1 Kita-ku, Shikata-cho, Okayama, 700-8558, Japan

    Tomohiro Nogami, Tadahiko Shien, Keiko Nishiyama, Taeko Mizoo, Hirokuni Ikeda, Naruto Taira, Hiroyoshi Doihara & Shinichiro Miyoshi

  2. Department of Pathology, Okayama University Hospital, Okayama, Japan

    Takehiro Tanaka

  3. Department of Breast and Endocrine Surgery, Okayama University Hospital, Okayama, Japan

    Takayuki Iwamto

Authors
  1. Tomohiro Nogami
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  2. Tadahiko Shien
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  3. Takehiro Tanaka
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  4. Keiko Nishiyama
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  5. Taeko Mizoo
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  6. Takayuki Iwamto
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  7. Hirokuni Ikeda
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  8. Naruto Taira
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  9. Hiroyoshi Doihara
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  10. Shinichiro Miyoshi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tomohiro Nogami.

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Nogami, T., Shien, T., Tanaka, T. et al. Expression of ALDH1 in axillary lymph node metastases is a prognostic factor of poor clinical outcome in breast cancer patients with 1–3 lymph node metastases. Breast Cancer 21, 58–65 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12282-012-0350-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12282-012-0350-5

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