Expression of estrogen sulfotransferase in the mammary gland of hypertrophic breast and its significance

Abstract

To investigate the expression of estrogen sulfotransferase (EST) in the mammary gland of hypertrophic breast and its significance. EST expression in the mammary gland was detected by EnVision two step method of immunohistochemistry in 15 cases with normal breasts and 32 cases with hypertrophic breasts, including 19 gland-associated cases and 13 fat-associated cases. The positive expression rate of EST in mammary gland was 34.4% (11/32) in hypertrophic group and 93.3% (14/15) in normal group, showing a significant difference between the two groups (P < 0.01). The positive expression rate of EST was 10.5% (2/19) in gland-associated group and 69.2% (9/ 13) in fat-associated group, showing a significant difference between the two groups (P < 0.01). Decrease or deletion of EST in the mammary gland may be related to the development of hypertrophic breast, especially gland-associated hypertrophic breast.