ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Promoter methylation of tumor suppressor genes in histologically negative sentinel lymph nodes (HNSN) of early stage breast cancer patients has not been extensively studied. This study evaluates the methylation frequency and pattern in HNSN to determine if detection of hypermethylation of one or more genes is associated with an increased recurrence risk in node negative breast cancer. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: In 1998, a prospective study of patients with early stage breast cancer and HNSN was initiated in order to correlate sentinel node analysis with clinical outcome. Nodal tissue was selected from 120 HNSN patients for methylation analysis in at least one and up to six sentinel nodes using a panel of nine genes. Corresponding primary breast tumors from 79 patients were also evaluated for hypermethylation. Methylation analysis was performed using nested Methylation Sensitive PCR (n-MSP). Logistical regression was used to evaluate the relationship between clinical recurrence and methylation status. RESULTS: Over a median follow-up of 79 months, 13 of the 120 patients had clinical recurrence. Hypermethylation of genes was frequently observed in HNSN, but there was no correlation of methylation pattern and clinical recurrence. However, increased frequency of gene methylation of the primary tumor correlated with clinical recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: Although hypermethylation of multiple genes occurs frequently in HNSN of breast cancer patients, it is not associated with breast cancer recurrence in the first 7 years of clinical follow-up.
Subject(s)
Biomarkers, Tumor/genetics , Breast Neoplasms/genetics , DNA Methylation , Neoplasm Recurrence, Local/genetics , Promoter Regions, Genetic/genetics , Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy , Breast Neoplasms/pathology , Breast Neoplasms/therapy , Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast/genetics , Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast/secondary , Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast/therapy , Carcinoma, Lobular/genetics , Carcinoma, Lobular/secondary , Carcinoma, Lobular/therapy , Female , Humans , Lymphatic Metastasis , Middle Aged , Neoplasm Recurrence, Local/pathology , Neoplasm Recurrence, Local/therapy , Polymerase Chain Reaction , Prognosis , Prospective Studies , Survival Rate , Tumor Suppressor Proteins/geneticsABSTRACT
SUMMARY: BACKGROUND: Breast cancer in men is an uncommon disease. Nearly all cases of male breast cancer originate in the terminal ductulolobular unit, with exceedingly rare reports of lobular carcinoma in men. Invasive lobular cancer is found in no more than 1-2% of male breast cancer cases. Most of what is known about this disease is in the form of approximately 30 case reports in the literature. CASE REPORT: We report the case of a 52-year-old man who presented at our institution with a lump in his left breast. Ultrasound-guided biopsy revealed an invasive lobular cancer. The rare histological type was confirmed by the result of the histological examination of the mastectomy specimen. The treatment was completed by dose dense chemotherapy, radiation, and endocrine therapy. CONCLUSION: Even though lobular structures are quite infrequent in the normal male, sporadic cases of invasive lobular breast cancer have been described. A short overview will be given in this case report.
