Microvessel Density and Mammaglobin A Expression as Prognostic Markers in Molecular Types of Breast Cancer

Abstract

Increased microvessel density (MVD) values in breast cancer correlate with tumor growth and progression while mammaglobin (MGB) expression in tumor cells is associated with a favorable prognosis. We aim to evaluate and correlate MVD values with MGB expression in molecular types of breast cancer specimens and to determine their utility as prognostic biological markers. A number of 52 breast cancer specimens were included in the study. Specimens were processed for routine histopathological diagnosis followed by the molecular classification by means of estrogen (ER), progesterone (PR) and HER2 immunohistochemical reactions. After performing immunohistochemistry for CD34 and MGB, MVD evaluation was made using the �hot spot� method for each case and MGB was scored between 0 (negative) and +3 (strong positive) depending on the intensity and distribution of the staining. MGB expression in tumor cells and MVD mean values were extremely variable. The greatest MVD mean values were obtained in luminal B followed by HER2, luminal A and triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) (95.33, 69, 62, and 40, respectively). MGB expression in the tumor cells generally ranged from mild to weak and was strong only in a few invasive ductal carcinoma cases. In cases with TNBCs the expression of MGB in tumor cells was weak and focal or negative. This variability was noticed between the molecular types of breast cancers and even within the same molecular type. In a restricted number of cases, MGB positive tumors were associated with low MVD values while the negative cases were characterized by increased MVD mean values. The variable results we obtained regarding the correlation between MVD and MGB in breast cancer specimens may indicate a rather restricted use of MVD/MGB in estimating breast cancer patients� prognosis.