Breast Cancer Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Breast Cancer, including details on symptoms, genetics, screening, treatment, information.

Immunohistochemical evaluation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase expression in primary breast cancer.

Loibl S, Strank C, von Minckwitz G, Sinn HP, Buck A, Solbach C, Strebhardt K, Kaufmann M

Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Johann-Wolfgang Goethe-University, Theodor-Stern-Kai 7, 60590 Frankfurt am Main, Germany. loibl@em.uni-frankfurt.de

To evaluate the clinical potential of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (e-NOS) in human breast cancer, we performed immunohistochemical (IHC) staining of paraffin-embedded primary breast cancer tissue of 163 patients for e-NOS using a monoclonal antibody. A correlation was found between e-NOS expression and both the classic prognostic factors and survival rates. Under half the patients were premenopausal (38.5%), 61.5% being postmenopausal. The median tumour size was 2 cm; in 41.7% of the patients there was involvement of the axillary lymph nodes. Most (84.1%) of the tumours were hormone receptor positive. e-NOS staining was positive in 62%, most of the positive tumours having weak (32.5%) or medium (21.5%) staining for e-NOS. The median follow-up time was 42 months, during which 46 (28%) patients had a local recurrence or metastatic disease. A positive correlation of e-NOS with the hormone receptor status was found (P=0.031). However, no impact on survival rates was observed.

Published 1 June 2005 in Breast, 14(3): 230-5.
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