Abstract:
Objective
To investigate the mRNA and protein expressions of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in breast invasive ductal carcinoma and analyze their relationship with clinicopathological characteristics.
Methods
The mRNA and protein expressions of COX-2 and VEGF were detected in 70 cases of breast invasive ductal carcinoma and 30 cases of breast fibroadenoma using in situ hybridization and immunohistochemical SP method. The enumeration data were analyzed by χ2 test. The correlation analysis was performed by Spearman test.
Results
The positive rate of COX-2 mRNA in breast invasive ductal carcinoma (74. 2%, 52/70) was significantly higher than in breast fibroadenoma (30.0%, 9/30) (χ2=17.31, P=0.00).The positive rate of COX-2 protein in breast invasive ductal carcinoma (72.8%,51/70) was significantly higher than that in breast fibroadenoma (23. 3%, 7/30) (χ2 =21. 14, P=0.00). In breast invasive ductal carcinoma, COX-2 mRNA and protein expressions were related to lymphatic metastasis (χ2=7.54, P=0.00;χ2=6.36,P=0.01),but not related to age, tumor size and histopathological grade. The positive rate of VEGF mRNA in breast invasive ductal carcinoma (71.4%, 50/70) was significantly higher than that in breast fibroadenoma (33.3%,10/30)(χ2=12.70,P=0.00). The positive rate of VEGF protein in breast invasive ductal carcinoma (65.7%, 46/70) was significantly higher than that in breast fibroadenoma (26.7%, 8/30) (χ2 =12.89,P=0.00). The expression of VEGF mRNA in breast invasive ductal carcinoma was related to lymphatic metastasis (χ2=8.33,P=0.00), but not related to age, tumor size and histopathological grade (P＞0.05). VEGF protein expression was related to lymphatic metastasis and histopathological grade (P ＜0.05), but not related to age and tumor size (P ＞0.05). The mRNA and protein expressions of VEGF were positively correlated with the mRNA and protein expressions of COX-2 in breast invasive ductal carcinoma (r =0. 64,P = 0. 00,r = 0. 44,P = 0. 00).
Conclusion
The mRNA and protein expressions of COX-2 and VEGF are up-regulated in breast invasive ductal,which is related to lymphatic metastasis,therefore,COX-2 and VEGF can be considered as biological markers for the prognosis of breast cancer.
Key words:
invasive ductal carcinoma,
cyclooxygenase 2,
vascular endothelial growth factor,
in situ hybridization,
immunohistochemistry
Wei LI, Zheng-wen XIONG, Hong-wei LI, Hai-xia HU, Yong HUANG, Hua-dong ZHANG. Expressions of COX-2 and VEGF in breast invasive ductal carcinoma and their clinical significance[J]. Chinese Journal of Breast Disease(Electronic Edition), 2011, 05(06): 693-702.