ABSTRACT
Background and purpose:It was reported that erythropoietin may directly or indirectly induce the tumor cells to proliferate and result in diseases progression when recombinant human erythropoictin is used clinically in cancer-related anemia.Recently,the expression of erythropoietin-receptor(Epo-R)was detected in breast cancer.This study was done to detect the expression of Epo-R,estrogen receptor(ER),progesterone receptor(PR)and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2(Her-2)in breast cancer,and to investigate the relationships between these indexes and the clinical significance.Methods:Sixty breast cancer patients were analyzed,the expression of Epo-R and microvascular density(MVD)were detected by immunohistochernistry,in order to clarify the relationships between the expression level of Epo-R,MVD and ER,PR,Her-2.Results:The rate of Epo-R expression was 78.3%,the mean number of positive tumor cells was 39±24,while the tissue MVD was 25±9.The expression level of Epo-R was positively correlated with the MVD.Also,the level of MVD was higher in the group of Epo-R positive than the negative,which has significant difference(t=3.4252,P＜0.001).The expression level of ER,PR has no definite relationships with Epo-R,MVD.The expression level of Her-2 was both closely associated with Epo-R,MVD.The expression level of Epo-R has an obvious relationship with clinical stage,lymph node status and the size(P＜0.001).The value of MVD was positively correlated with lymph node status,while not with clinical stage and the size.Conclusion:The expression level of Epo-R was markedly higher in breast cancer,and has a positive correlation with the tissue MVD.The expression level of Epo-R and MVD were significantly associated with Her-2,but not with ER and PR.It may contribute to clarifying the clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of breast cancer by detecting both the expression level of Epo-R and MVD.