Expression of nm23-H1 gene product in thyroid, ovary, and breast cancers.

The nm23 gene product is one of several possible mediators of cancer invasion and metastasis. As the amounts of nm23-H1 mRNA and gene product are reduced in metastatic lymph nodes from patients with papillary carcinoma of the thyroid, we examined the expression of nm23 gene product in 115 thyroid cancers, 78 ovarian cancers, 63 breast cancers, and metastatic lymph node tissues by immunohistochemistry. It was found that nm23-H1, but not nm23-H2 gene product, was expressed in primary sites of thyroid, ovarian, and breast cancers, except for medullary and anaplastic carcinomas of the thyroid, but expressed only weakly or poorly in metastatic lymph nodes. Although nm23-H1 gene product expression was lower in anaplastic and medullary carcinomas of the thyroid, there was no significant difference in nm23-H1 gene product expression among histological types of ovarian and breast cancers. Our data indicate that the nm23-H1 gene product may play a role in metastasis in these hormone-producing organs and that other factors may be involved in metastasis of anaplastic and medullary carcinomas of the thyroid.