Reply to Drs. Leris, Kouriefs, Williams, and Mokbel

Abstract

In response to the letter by Leris et al. "Assessment of Nipple Discharge" [1] and in reference to our article [2], we are aware of the recent studies that demonstrate the importance of nipple discharge fluid through its complex biochemical and cellular composition-revealing alveolar gland aspects.Phillips et al. [3] have demonstrated that samples of breast ductal fluid obtained by nipple aspiration make possible cytological examination by molecular and biological techniques. Moreover, methods concerning detection of enzymes such as telomerase [4,5] in malignancy are well known by us.We have initiated a study to evaluate telomerase activity, metal proteins, and Ki-67 expression on nipple discharge fluids in patients with breast cancer. At the moment, though, our number of case studies must be expanded, to give valuable final results and conclusions.We believe that studies of telomerase activity give superior results compared to other methods used in the past. REFERENCES1. Leris C, Kouriefs C, Williams N, et al.: Assessment of nipple discharge [letter]. J Surg Oncol 2000;75:72. 2. Gioffre' Florio MA, Manganaro T, et al.: Surgical approach to nipple discharge: A ten-year experience. J Surg Oncol 1999;71: 235-238. 3. Phillips HA, Howard GCW, Miller WR: Nipple aspirate fluid in relation to breast cancer. Breast 1999;8:169-174. 4. Mokbel K, Parris CN, Ghilchik M, et al.: The association between telomerase, histological parameters and Ki-67 expression in breast cancer. Am J Surg 1999;178:68-72. 5. Mokbell K, Parris CN, Ghilchik M: Telomerase activity in the human breast. Breast 1999;8:208-211.