ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Clinical courses of breast cancer are very different, and concern for finding a predictable marker of breast carcinomas has increased. This study focused on the relationship between the expressions of DNA topoisomerase II-alpha as a proliferative marker, and E2F-1 as a transcription factor, with clinicopathological factors of infiltrating duct carcinomas of the breast. METHODS: We investigated the expressions of E2F-1 and DNA topoisomerase II-alpha in 43 patients with infiltrating ductal carcinomas using immunohistochemical staining, and the results were analyzed with regard to clinicopathological parameters. RESULTS: Among 43 infiltrating ductal carcinomas, 24 (55.8%) were immunohistochemically negative on E2F-1 and 19 (44.2%) were positive. The expression of E2F-1 correlated with increased tumor size, positive axillary lymph node meta stasis and high stage. The topoisomerase II-alpha index correlated with increased tumor size, positive lymph node metastasis, high stage, high histological grade and negative estrogen receptor. The expression of E2F-1 and the topo II-alpha index were significantly correlated. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the expressions of DNA topoisomerase II-alpha and E2F-1 play some role as prog nostic factors for infiltrating duct carcinomas of the breast, but much more study will be required.