Expression of c-erbB-2,nm23,estrogen receptor and progestogen receptor in breast carcinoma:their correlation and clinicopathological significance

Objective To investigate the expression and significance of estrogen receptor(ER),progestogen receptor(PR),c-erbB-2 and nm23 protein in breast carcinoma. Methods 126 cases of surgical specimens from infiltrating breast cancer were investigated by S-P immunohistochemical staining for ER,PR,c-erbB-2 oncogene and nm23 gene protein. Results (1) The positive rate of ER was 44.4%,which was negatively correlated with histological grade,TNM stage and tumor size.The positive rate of ER in invasive lobular carcinoma was higher than that in ductal carcinoma(P0.05),but that did not relate to age and metastasis;(2) The positive rate of PR was 63.5%,which was negatively correlated with histological grade,TNM stage,but did not relate to tumor size,histological types,age and metastasis;(3) The positive rate of c-erbB-2 was 61.9%.The expression of c-erbB-2 was positively correlated with histological grade,TNM stage,tumor size and lymph node metastasis,but did not relate to histological types and age;(4)The positive rate of nm23 was 71.4%,which was negatively correlated with histological grade,TNM stage and lymph node metastasis,and did not relate to tumor size and histological types;(5) The expression of ER was positively correlated with that of PR,so did nm23 with ER and PR,respectively,and that negatively correlated with c-erbB-2 expression.The expression of c-erbB-2 was negatively correlated with ER expression,but did not relate to PR expression. Conclusion The expression of ER,PR,c-erbB-2 and nm23 in breast cancer cells reflects the pathobiologic features of the cancer.