PURPOSE: Breast cancer is composed of phenotypically diverse populations of cancer cells. The ability to form breast tumors has been shown by in vitro/in vivo studies to be restricted to epithelial tumor cells with CD44(+)/CD24(-/low) characteristics. Validation of these findings with respect to detection in clinical samples, prognosis, and clinical relevance is in demand. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: We investigated breast cancer tissues for the prevalence of CD44(+)/CD24(-/low) tumor cells and their prognostic value. The study included paraffin-embedded tissues of 136 patients with and without recurrences. In addition, a breast cancer progression array with normal, carcinoma in situ, and carcinoma tissues was analyzed. We applied double-staining immunohistochemistry for the detection of CD44(+)/CD24(-/low) cells. Evaluation was by microscopic pathologic inspection and automated image analysis. RESULTS: CD44(+)/CD24(-/low) cells ranged from 0% to 40% in normal breast and from 0% to 80% in breast tumor tissues. The prevalence of CD44(+)/CD24(-/low) tumor cells in 122 tumors was < or =10% in the majority (78%) of cases and >10% in the remainder. There was no significant correlation between CD44(+)/CD24(-/low) tumor cell prevalence and tumor progression. Although recurrences of tumors with high percentages of CD44(+)/CD24(-/low) tumor cells were mainly distant, preferably osseous metastasis, there was no correlation with the event-free and overall survival. There was no influence on the response to different treatment modalities. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that the prevalence of CD44(+)/CD24(-/low) tumor cells in breast cancer may not be associated with clinical outcome and survival but may favor distant metastasis.
PURPOSE:Breast cancer is composed of phenotypically diverse populations of cancer cells. The ability to form breast tumors has been shown by in vitro/in vivo studies to be restricted to epithelial tumor cells with CD44(+)/CD24(-/low) characteristics. Validation of these findings with respect to detection in clinical samples, prognosis, and clinical relevance is in demand. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: We investigated breast cancer tissues for the prevalence of CD44(+)/CD24(-/low) tumor cells and their prognostic value. The study included paraffin-embedded tissues of 136 patients with and without recurrences. In addition, a breast cancer progression array with normal, carcinoma in situ, and carcinoma tissues was analyzed. We applied double-staining immunohistochemistry for the detection of CD44(+)/CD24(-/low) cells. Evaluation was by microscopic pathologic inspection and automated image analysis. RESULTS: CD44(+)/CD24(-/low) cells ranged from 0% to 40% in normal breast and from 0% to 80% in breast tumor tissues. The prevalence of CD44(+)/CD24(-/low) tumor cells in 122 tumors was < or =10% in the majority (78%) of cases and >10% in the remainder. There was no significant correlation between CD44(+)/CD24(-/low) tumor cell prevalence and tumor progression. Although recurrences of tumors with high percentages of CD44(+)/CD24(-/low) tumor cells were mainly distant, preferably osseous metastasis, there was no correlation with the event-free and overall survival. There was no influence on the response to different treatment modalities. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that the prevalence of CD44(+)/CD24(-/low) tumor cells in breast cancer may not be associated with clinical outcome and survival but may favor distant metastasis.
Authors: Huiping Liu; Manishkumar R Patel; Jennifer A Prescher; Antonia Patsialou; Dalong Qian; Jiahui Lin; Susanna Wen; Ya-Fang Chang; Michael H Bachmann; Yohei Shimono; Piero Dalerba; Maddalena Adorno; Neethan Lobo; Janet Bueno; Frederick M Dirbas; Sumanta Goswami; George Somlo; John Condeelis; Christopher H Contag; Sanjiv Sam Gambhir; Michael F Clarke Journal: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A Date: 2010-10-04 Impact factor: 11.205
Authors: Vera S Donnenberg; Ludovic Zimmerlin; Joseph Peter Rubin; Albert D Donnenberg Journal: Tissue Eng Part B Rev Date: 2010-11-02 Impact factor: 6.389
Authors: Chandra Bartholomeusz; Xuemei Xie; Mary Kathryn Pitner; Kimie Kondo; Ali Dadbin; Jangsoon Lee; Hitomi Saso; Paul D Smith; Kevin N Dalby; Naoto T Ueno Journal: Mol Cancer Ther Date: 2015-09-17 Impact factor: 6.261