Tissue Expression Of LPHN3 in Breast Cancer: An Immunohistochemistry Method.

OBJECTIVE: Breast cancer is one of the most important public health problems among women worldwide. It is a major cause of morbidity especially among women in developing countries including Thailand. The purpose of this study was to study the expression of LPHN3 protein in normal breast tissue compared to breast cancer tissue. METHODS: We had studied the expression of LPHN3 in 65 breast tissues using an immunohistochemistry method. The association between LPHN3 expression and breast cancer metastasis to nearby axillary lymph nodes was also examined. RESULTS: Among the 65 breast cancer and normal breast tissues examined, LPHN3 expression with an immunohistochemistry index (IHC index) greater than 4 was more frequently found in breast cancer tissues than in normal breast tissues (P-value = 0.001, OR (95% CI) = 7.04 (2.16-23)). Moreover, a high expression of LPHN3 (IHC index > 4) was more frequently found in breast cancer tissues with negative axillary lymph nodes than in those with positive ones (P-value = 0.038, OR (95% CI) = 0.25 (0.07-0.96)). LPHN3 protein might be a new metastasis suppressor gene in breast cancer and a marker for breast cancer metastasis prevention. CONCLUSIONS: The present study indicated that a decrease of LPHN3 protein expression in breast cancer tissue might be a marker indicating the aggressiveness of breast cancer. These results also suggested that a decrease of LPHN3 expression could be functionally involved in breast cancer progression and metastasis.

Differential expression of matrix metalloproteinase-13 in association with invasion of breast cancer.

Matrix metalloproteinase-13 (MMP-13) has a potential role in tumour invasion and metastasis. However, its relevance to the prognosis of human breast cancer is poorly understood. The aim of this study is to investigate the expression patterns of MMP-13 protein and to determine its prognostic value in breast cancer, and to define its relation to the clinicopathological features. Immunohistochemistry analysis of MMP-13 was performed on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded sections of cancerous breast tissue (n = 76) and normal breast tissue (n = 20), all of which had clinicopathological information available. Based on the principle of immunoreactivity, the detection of MMP-13 on breast tissue was conducted using monoclonal antibodies against MMP-13. A semi-quantitative scoring system was used to assess the presence of, as well as the cellular localisation of MMP-13. MMP-13 expression was significantly greater in the cancerous breast tissues in comparison to those of normal breast tissues. In addition, high levels of MMP-13 expression were also found to be related to the positive detection of breast cancer cells in lymph nodes-amongst breast cancer patients. The results of this study showed that MMP-13 was frequently present in breast tumours, especially when tumours were accompanied by positive breast cancer cell detection in lymph nodes. This suggests that MMP-13 plays a potentially significant role in breast cancer invasion and metastasis.

Histopathology analysis of benign colorectal diseases and colorectal cancer in Hatyai Hospital, Songkhla, Thailand.

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the western world and also ranks as the fifth-leading malignancy and death in Thailand. This study aimed to provide a present outlook of colorectal diseases among Thai patients with special emphasis on CRC in Hatyai, Songkhla, southern Thailand. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective study covered ten year data of CRC, benign colorectal tumors and non-colorectal tumors from the Department of Pathology in Hatyai Hospital, Songkhla, Thailand, between years 2003-2012. Incidence rates based on age, gender, ten year incidence trends, and distribution of histopathological characteristics of patients were calculated and demonstrated. RESULTS: Out of 730 biopsies, 100 cases were benign colorectal tumors, 336 were CRC and 294 were non-colorectal tumors. Colorectal tumors (both benign and CRC) (60.1%) were more common than non-colorectal tumors (39.9%). CRC (77.1%) were more common than benign colorectal tumors (32.9%). Colorectal tumors were mainly found in patients aged over sixty whereas non-colorectal and benign colorectal tumors were found in those under sixty (P=0.01). sAmong CRC, adenocarcinoma contributed about 97.3% of all cases with well differentiated tumors being the most frequent (56.9%). Both benign colorectal tumors and CRC were more commonly found in males (63%) than females (37%). The incidence trend of CRC demonstrated increase from 2003-2012. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of CRC increased in Hatyai from 2003-2012. CRC tends to be more common in people older than sixty, thus, screening programs, cost-effective analysis of treatment modalities, and treatment protocols for the elderly should be examined. Proper implementation of preventive measures such as changing lifestyle factors might enhance control of colorectal disease.