Effects of Raloxifene on Ki-67 and CD34 Antigen Expression in Breast Cancer

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of raloxifene on CD34 and Ki-67 antigen expression in breast cancer specimens from postmenopausal women. Methods: Sixteen postmenopausal patients with operable, stage II (>= 3 cm), estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer, who took 60 mg of raloxifene daily for 28 days, participated in this study. Immunohistochemistry was carried out in tumor samples prior to and following raloxifene treatment to evaluate CD34 and Ki-67 protein expression. Angiogenesis was quantified in 10 randomly selected fields per slide, and Ki-67-stained nuclei were counted in 1,000 cells per slide using an image capture and analysis system with 400 ! magnification. Student`s t test for paired samples was used for the statistical analysis of data. Statistical significance was established at p < 0.05. Results: The mean number of microvessels was 44.44 +/- 3.54 prior to raloxifene therapy and 22.63 +/- 1.61 following therapy (p < 0.001), and the mean percentage of Ki-67-stained nuclei was 19.28 +/- 8 1.61 and 12.13 +/- 8 1.48 prior to and following raloxifene treatment, respectively (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Raloxifene significantly reduces CD34 and Ki-67 protein expression in breast carcinoma in postmenopausal women. Copyright (C) 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel

Comparison of three vascular endothelial markers in the evaluation of microvessel density in breast cancer

Purpose: To evaluate the microvessel density by comparing the performance of anti-factor VIII-related antigen, anti-CD31 and, anti-CD34 monoclonal antibodies in breast cancer. Methods: Twenty-three postmenopausal women diagnosed with Stage II breast cancer submitted to definitive surgical treatment were evaluated. The monoclonal antibodies used were anti-factor VIII, anti-CD31 and anti-CD34. Microvessels were counted in the areas of highest microvessel density in ten random fields (200 x). The data were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis nonparametric test (p < 0.05). Results: Mean microvessel densities with anti-factor VIII, anti-CD31 and anti-CD34 were 4.16 +/- 0.38, 4.09 +/- 0.23 and 6.59 +/- 0.42, respectively. Microvessel density as assessed by anti-CD34 was significantly greater than that detected by anti-CD31 or anti-factor VIII (p < 0.0001). There was no statistically significant difference between anti-CD31 and anti-factor VIII (p = 0.4889). Conclusion: The density of stained microvessels was greater and staining was more intense with anti-CD34 compared to anti-CD31 and anti-factor VII-related antigen.

Human papillomavirus type 16 variants in cervical cancer from an admixtured population in Brazil

Several studies indicate that molecular variants of HPV-16 have different geographic distribution and risk associated with persistent infection and development of high-grade cervical lesions. In the present study, the frequency of HPV-16 variants was determined in 81 biopsies from women with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade III or invasive cervical cancer from the city of Belem, Northern Brazil. Host DNAs were also genotyped in order to analyze the ethnicity-related distribution of these variants. Ninie different HPV-16 LCR variants belonging to four phylogenetic branches were identified. Among these, two new isolates were characterized. The most prevalent HPV-16 variant detected was the Asian-American B-2,followed by the European B-12 and the European prototype. Infections by multiple variants were observed in both invasive cervical cancer and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade III cases. The analysis of a specific polymorphism within the E6 viral gene was performed in a subset of 76 isolates. The E6-350G polymorphism was significantly more frequent in Asian-American variants. The HPV-16 variability detected followed the same pattern of the genetic ancestry observed in Northern Brazil, with European, Amerindian and African roots. Although African ancestry was higher among women infected by the prototype, no correlation between ethnical origin and HPV-16 variants was found. These results corroborate previous data showing a high frequency of Asian-American variants in cervical neoplasia among women with multiethnic origin.