Long-term prognostic significance of neoangiogenesis in breast carcinomas: comparison of Tie-2/Tek, CD105, and CD31 immunocytochemical expression.

The immunocytochemical detection of Tie-2/Tek, CD105, and CD31 was assessed in a large series (n = 905) of breast carcinomas on frozen sections. Results were correlated with patients' long-term outcome (median, 11.7 years) to define the respective prognostic significance of these markers. Univariate (Kaplan-Meier) analysis demonstrated that higher expression of CD31 (P = 0.032), CD105 (P = 0.001), and Tie-2/Tek (P = 0.025) correlated with poorer survival. However, only greater CD105 expression could significantly (P = 0.035) identify node-negative patients with poorer survival. Moreover, in multivariate analysis, CD105 and Tie-2/Tek, but not CD31, expression proved to be independent significant prognostic indicators. Marked expression of CD31 (P = 0.024), CD105 (P = 0.001), and Tie-2/Tek (P = 0.01) also correlated with higher risk of metastases in node-negative patients. It is concluded that CD105 immunoexpression in breast carcinomas is an independent prognostic indicator in node-negative patients, better in terms of overall survival than Tie-2/Tek and CD31. Also, Tie-2/Tek expression proved more sensitive than CD31 expression in terms of prognostic significance. Compared with CD31, CD105 and Tie-2/Tek have more clinical relevance for patient monitoring and also can serve as targets for specific therapy, such as CD105 immunotoxins or Tie-2/Tek pathway blockade, as recently suggested in experimental studies.