Expression and significance of high molecular weight cytokeratin in breast cancer / 中华普通外科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To study the expression of high molecular weight cytokeratin (CK34βE12) in breast carcinoma and the relationship between the high molecular weight cytokeratin expression and patient's prognosis. Methods We detected the high molecular weight cytokeratin expression in 100 patient's of breast cancer tissues and paracancerous breast tissue in 30 cases immunohistochemically. The relationship between the expression of high molecular weight cytokeratin in breast cancer tissues and age, menstrual status, estrogen receptor expression, progesterone receptor expression, histology grading, TNM staging, pathology type, and patient survival was analyzed. Results (1) There was no significant correlation between high molecular weight cytokeratin expression of breast -cancer tissues and age, menstrual status, estrogen receptor expression, progesterone receptor expression (all P>0.05). But the correlation was statistically significant between that expression and histology grading, TNM staging, pathology category (all P<0.05). (2) By univariate analysis, the 5-year disease-free survival rate in patients with negative expression was lower than those with positive expression(P<0.05). By multivariate analysis, the expression of high molecular weight cytokeratin was unfavorably related with tumor free survival. Conclusion The expression of high molecular weight cytokeratin in breast carcinoma tissues was correlated with biologic malignancies of breast cancer, the negative high molecular weight cytokeratin expression of breast cancer tissues predicts poor prognosis.