A STUDY ON ACTIVITIES OF THYMIDYLATE SYNTHASE AND DIHYDROPYRIMIDINE DEHYDROGENASE IN PATIENTS WITH BREAST CANCER

Abstract

The activities of thymidylate synthase (TS) and dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) were studied in patients with breast cancer in our hospital. In comparisons between normal and tumor tissues for TS and DPD activities, the TS activity was high in tumor tissues compared to that in normal tissues (p=0.0211), while the DPD activity tended to be high in tumor tissues. The TS activity was higher in tumor tissues than in normal tissues in stage I+II patients (p=0.0288). In terms of those activities in tumor tissues, a higher TS activity was noted in stage I+II (p=0.0345) tumors, and a higher DPD activity was noted in tumor tissues in stage III+IV (p=0.0066). A higher tendency of TS activity in tumor tissues than that in normal tissues was observed at nO (p=0.0601). A higher TS activity was demonstrated in tumor tissues at tl+t2 (p=0.0278). TS activity at tl +t2 was high in tumor tissues (p=0.0227). As for histologic types, mucinous cancer revealed a higher TS activity than other types. These findings indicate a possibility that the TS activity can be an indicator for antineoplastic efficacy but may not display the biological malignancy of the breast tumor.