TGF-beta 1 overexpression in breast cancer: Correlation with clinicopathological data

Journal URL: http://www.spandidos-publications.com/or/TGF-ß1 belongs to a family of pluripotent growth factors (TGFßs) and has been implicated in the development and progression of human breast cancer. There are conflicting data though, suggesting that TGF-ß has the pontency both to promote and inhibit the progression of mammary neoplasia. We examined the expression of TGF-ß1 mRNA in 24 breast carcinomas using the technique of the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to obtain quantitative results. Overexpression of TGF-ß1 gene was found in 75% of the cases. We also correlated the overexpression of the TGF-ß1 gene with clinicopathological parameters including histological grade, tumour cellularity, oestrogen receptor status (ER), progesterone receptor status (PR) and lymph node involvement. The results led us to the conclusion that the increasing rado of overexpression related to the stage of cancer in an analogous way (P~1). No significant association was identified between the ratio of overexpression and the grade, ER, PR, or lymph node involvement (rs=0.5, 0.2, 0.1, 0.1 respectively; P