The majority of triple-negative breast cancer may correspond to basal-like carcinoma, but triple-negative breast cancer is not identical to basal-like carcinoma (original) (raw)

Abstract

Recently, the concept of basal-like carcinoma has been proposed. However, there are only a few reports about the relationship between triple-negative cancer and basal-like carcinoma. In this article, we report the study of the expression of basal cell markers in 11 triple-negative cancers. Eight tumors (4 metaplastic carcinomas, 2 invasive ductal carcinomas, 1 invasive papillary carcinoma, and 1 medullary carcinoma) were positive for more than three markers among cytokeratins 5, 14, and 17, and p63. Three tumors (2 invasive ductal carcinomas and 1 apocrine carcinoma) were completely negative for all markers. Among 8 tumors positive for basal markers, cytokeratins 5 and 17 were expressed in all 8 tumors, cytokeratin 14 in 6 tumors, and p63 in 7 tumors. Finally, we conclude that the majority of triple-negative cancer may correspond to basal-like carcinoma, but the two entities are not identical. The use of combination immunohistochemistry including cytokeratins 5, 14, and 17 and p63 may contribute to the detection of basal-like carcinoma.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Diagnostic Pathology, Kochi Red Cross Hospital, 2-13-51 Shin-honmachi, Kochi, 780-8562, Japan
    Naoto Kuroda, Masahiko Ohara, Kaori Inoue & Keiko Mizuno
  2. Department of Surgery, Kochi Red Cross Hospital, Kochi, Japan
    Nokiaki Fujishima & Nobumasa Hamaguchi
  3. Department of Pathology, Kochi Medical School, Kochi University, Kochi, Japan
    Gang-Hong Lee

Authors

  1. Naoto Kuroda
  2. Masahiko Ohara
  3. Kaori Inoue
  4. Keiko Mizuno
  5. Nokiaki Fujishima
  6. Nobumasa Hamaguchi
  7. Gang-Hong Lee

Corresponding author

Correspondence toNaoto Kuroda.

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Kuroda, N., Ohara, M., Inoue, K. et al. The majority of triple-negative breast cancer may correspond to basal-like carcinoma, but triple-negative breast cancer is not identical to basal-like carcinoma.Med Mol Morphol 42, 128–131 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00795-008-0428-5

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