ABSTRACT
CONTEXT: Breast cancer constitutes nearly one third of cancers among women. Immune responses caused by neoplastic cells lead to the accumulation of inflammatory cells like mast cells (MCs), macrophages, lymphocytes, and plasma cells around the tumor tissue forming the tumor microenvironment. AIM: The study aims at quantifying the role of MCs in different grades of invasive carcinoma of breast with respect to estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and Human Epidermal growth factor Receptor 2 (HER2/neu). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study included 60 cases of invasive carcinoma of breast. Toluidine blue staining was used for quantitative MC analysis and correlated with immunohistochemistry analysis for hormonal markers' positivity-ER, PR and HER2/neu. RESULTS: The mean age was 52 years (range: 25-75 years). The average number of MCs in Grade I, II, and III were 24.05, 18.4, and 7.9, respectively, with a significant P value. ER, PR, and HER2/neu positivity was found in 60%, 55%, and 32% of the cases, respectively. ER positivity with mean MC count of 23.55 was found in 36 cases, and 33 cases were positive for PR with a mean MC count of 24.18 and a significant P value. HER2 positive cases were 28 with a mean MC count of 20.82. CONCLUSION: The presence of MCs in breast cancer is inversely proportional to the grade of tumor, i.e., a maximum number of MCs were seen in low grade tumors. In addition, there is a positive correlation between ER and PR receptor positivity with the presence of MCs in the stroma of breast cancer.
Subject(s)
Breast Neoplasms/immunology , Breast Neoplasms/pathology , Mast Cells/pathology , Tumor Microenvironment/immunology , Adult , Aged , Female , Humans , Immunohistochemistry , Mast Cells/immunology , Middle Aged , Prospective Studies , Receptor, ErbB-2/genetics , Receptors, Estrogen/genetics , Receptors, Progesterone/geneticsABSTRACT
Altered platelets have been reported in patients with diabetes mellitus and has been considered as a 'prothrombotic state' with enhanced platelet reactivity. They have been associated with increased risk of vascular complications in these patients. Platelet indices correlate with functional status of platelets and is an emerging risk factor of vascular complications in diabetes. The study was undertaken to know the efficacy of platelet analysis in assessing the prognosis of diabetes mellitus. A prospective hospital based study of platelet parameters MPV, PDW and P-LCR was carried out on 280 cases diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes Mellitus and 280 controls with normal blood glucose levels. The blood glucose levels and HbA1c level were also measured. Statistical evaluation was performed by using Student's unpaired t test and Pearson correlation test. The average age of presentation with type 2 diabetes mellitus was 53 ± 5.7 years. The mean duration of diabetes was 4.7 ± 2.5 years. MPV, PDW and P-LCR were significantly higher in diabetics compared to non diabetics (11.3 ± 1.0 vs. 9.0 ± 0.6, 14.2 ± 2.5 vs. 10.7 ± 0.7 fl, 35.0 ± 8.1 vs. 23.0 ± 2.4%). Among the diabetics, MPV, PDW and P-LCR were higher in those with complications as compared to those without complications, which was not statistically significant. The higher values of MPV, PDW and P-LCR indicates that they serve as better risk indicator of initial vascular complications in diabetes mellitus patients and can be used as a simple and cost effective tool to assess vascular events.
