Expressions of progesterone receptor a and b in breast invasive ductal carcinoma and their clinical significance

Abstract

Objective To investigate the expressions of progesterone receptor a and b in breast invasive ductal carcinoma(IDC) and their associations with clinical and pathological factors and prognosis. Methods The expressions of PR-a and PR-b in 100 specimens of IDC were detected by immunohistochemistry. The correlations between PR-a, PR-b and characteristics such as ER-α, ER-β, HER-2, Ki-67, axillary lymph node(ALN)metastases, cytological classification, TNM staging and lymphovascular invasion were analyzed, the relationships between PR-a/PR-b ratio and these factors were investigated. Results The expression rates of PR-a and PR-b were 55% and 58% respectively. The results showed positive correlation between PR-a and HER-2, Ki-67(P 1, =1 and 1 group, the positive rates of HER-2, Ki-67, high cytological classification, high TNM staging and ALN metastases were higher than PR-a/PR-b≤1 group(P < 0.05). Conclusions The expression of PR-b is negatively correlated with HER-2, Ki-67, ALN metastases, cytological classification, TNM staging and lymphovascular invasion. PR-b positive and PR-a/PR-b≤1 can be good indicators of prognosis for IDC. Key words: Invasive ductal carcinoma(IDC); Progesterone receptor a(PR-a); Progesterone receptor b(PR-b); Prognosis