RESUMO
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the expression of translationally controlled tumor protein (TCTP) in human breast cancer tissues and its clinical significances.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The expression of TCTP in 94 human breast cancer and the corresponding adjacent normal mammary tissues were detected using immunohistochemistry.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The expression rate of TCTP was 64.89% in human breast cancer tissues, significantly higher than that in normal benign mammary tissues (39.36%, P<0.001). TCTP overexpression was positively correlated to the tumor size, clinical stage, lymph node metastasis and histological grade of breast cancer (P<0.05). Patients with positive TCTP expression had a significantly shorter mean survival time than those with negative expression (P<0.001).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>TCTP may play an important role in the tumorigenesis and development of breast cancer, and can be an important prognostic factor for this malignancy.</p>