Annals of Surgical Oncology Cite Track
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
This Article
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Khan, S. A.
Right arrow Articles by Miller, L. E.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Khan, S. A.
Right arrow Articles by Miller, L. E.

Annals of Surgical Oncology, Vol 4, Issue 6 462-469, Copyright © 1997 by Society of Surgical Oncology

ARTICLES

Expression of pS2, c-erbB-2, and cathepsin D during the menstrual cycle in human breast cancers

S. A. Khan, N. J. Gonchoroff and L. E. Miller
Department of Surgery, State University of New York Health Science Center, Syracuse, USA.

BACKGROUND: Many studies have addressed the effect of the timing of surgery for breast cancer relative to menstrual cycle phase, with conflicting results. Explanations for the possibility that survival could be altered by the appropriate timing of breast cancer surgery in humans remain speculative. METHODS: We examined the expression of three estrogen related proteins (c-erbB-2, cathepsin D, pS2) in the breast tumors from 69 premenopausal women sampled in different phases of the menstrual cycle. Data on S-phase fraction and hormone receptor expression were also analyzed. Immunohistochemical assays were used to measure the proteins of interest. S-phase fraction was determined by flow cytometry. Analyses were performed based on fraction of cells staining positive for the protein, density of stain, and a histoscore that combined both fraction of positive cells and density. RESULTS: We found no differences in c-erbB-2, cathepsin D, hormone receptor, or S-phase levels in tumors sampled in the follicular versus luteal phase, or perimenstrual versus periovulatory phase. The exception was pS2, which was expressed at greater levels during the luteal than during the follicular phase of the cycle (p < 0.01); but there was no difference in pS2 expression when the patients were classified as periovulatory versus perimenstrual. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings do not support a variation in c-erbB-2, cathepsin D, S-phase fraction, or receptor expression as an explanation for the differences in breast cancer prognosis when surgery is timed by menstrual cycle phase. The finding that pS2 (an indicator of hormone sensitivity, and possibly better prognosis) is expressed at higher levels in tumor samples during the luteal phase suggests that the biologic profile of breast tumors may vary with the menstrual cycle and that these variations deserve further study.




HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 1997 by the Society of Surgical Oncology.