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Apoptosis and cell proliferation in medullary carcinoma of the breast: A comparative study between medullary and non‐medullary carcinoma using the TUNEL method and immunohistochemistry
Author(s) -
Kajiwara Masaaki,
Toyoshima Satoshi,
Yao Takashi,
Tanaka Masao,
Tsuneyoshi Masazumi
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
journal of surgical oncology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.201
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1096-9098
pISSN - 0022-4790
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1096-9098(199904)70:4<209::aid-jso2>3.0.co;2-6
Subject(s) - tunel assay , medullary cavity , medullary carcinoma , immunohistochemistry , medicine , breast carcinoma , carcinoma , pathology , proliferative index , proliferation index , ductal carcinoma , apoptosis , terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase , biology , cancer , breast cancer , thyroid carcinoma , biochemistry , thyroid
Background and Objectives Medullary carcinoma of the breast has generally been considered to result in better prognosis than ordinary invasive ductal carcinoma, which would seem to be discrepant when one considers its anaplastic histology and high mitotic rate. We attempted to elucidate the prognostic implications of apoptosis and cell proliferation in medullary carcinoma of the breast. Methods Formalin‐fixed, paraffin‐embedded specimens of 50 cases of typical medullary carcinoma (MC) of the breast and those of 50 control cases of non‐medullary invasive ductal carcinoma (N‐MC), which were matched to the MC cases in both age and TNM classification, were investigated utilizing the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase‐mediated dUTP‐biotin nick end‐labeling (TUNEL) method and immunohistochemistry for p53, bcl‐2, and Ki‐67. Results Mean values of the apoptotic index (AI), the proliferative index (PI), and the ratio of AI to PI (AI/PI) were significantly higher in MC than in N‐MC ( P < 0.0001). MC exhibited significantly lower positivity for bcl‐2 than N‐MC ( P = 0.00003), while there was no significant difference in p53 positivity between MC and N‐MC. Conclusions A high frequency of apoptosis may be related to a favorable prognosis in MC, even though it demonstrates a high proliferative activity, exhibiting a rapid cell turnover. J. Surg. Oncol. 1999;70:209–216. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.