ABSTRACT
The necessity of screening high-risk patients with breast cancer who may require more intensive systemic therapy especially in the node negative subgroup was generally accepted. Cathepsin D, an estrogen induced protease, has been shown to be implicated in the proliferation and invasion of breast cancers. Retrospective assessment of cytosol cathepsin D in 151 primary breast cancers was done together with ER, PR and other clinico-pathological parameters. No significant relationship was shown between cathepsin D concentrations or cathepsin D status using median value of 56 pmol/mg protein as cutoff level with most studied parameters. High cathepsin D status was found in 47 per cent of patients with fibrocystic disease of breast and 30 per cent in node-negative, ER-PR negative tumors. Survival analysis after 5 or 10 year follow-up and evaluation in a larger scale are necessary before including cytosol cathepsin D measurement as a routine clinical investigation for breast cancers.