HISTOLOGY AND HISTOPATHOLOGY

Cellular and Molecular Biology

 

Consistent lack of CD34-positive stromal cells in the stroma of malignant breast lesions

N. Kuroda1, Y.-L. Jin1, T. Hamauzu1, M. Toi1, E. Miyazaki1, M. Hiroi1, T. Moriki2 and H. Enzan1

1Department of Pathology, Program of Bioregulation and Genetics, and 2Department of Laboratory Medicine, Program of Organ System Control, Kochi Medical School, Kochi University, Kochi, Japan

Offprint requests to: Naoto Kuroda, Department of Pathology, Program of Bioregulation and Genetics, Kochi Medical School, Kochi University, Kohasu, Oko-cho, Nankoku City, Kochi 783-8505, Japan. e-mail: nkuroda@med.kochi-u.ac.jp


Summary. To examine the distribution of CD34-positive and ASMA-positive stromal cells in various breast lesions, we performed immunohistochemical assays (using a streptavidin-biotin immunoperoxidase technique) of tissue specimens, obtained by excisional biopsy and partial or total mastectomy, from 62 patients with breast lesions. Specimens were obtained from 64 lesions as follows: fibrocystic disease (n=12), intraductal papilloma (n=4), fibroadenoma (n=17), invasive lobular carcinoma (n=6), invasive ductal carcinoma (n=20) and invasive micropapillary carcinoma (n=5). In normal breast tissue (controls), CD34-positive spindle cells were abundant in the intralobular stroma, but no ASMA-positive stromal cells were identified except myoepithelial cells. Small to large numbers of CD34-positive cells were observed in the stroma of 29 of 33 benign diseases. In all invasive carcinomas (lobular, ductal and micropapillary), no CD34-positive stromal cells were observed in the stroma. In the stroma of benign lesions, the number of ASMA-positive stromal cells was various, but the stroma of all invasive breast cancers contained ASMA-positive stromal cells. The present results indicate that disappearance of CD34-positive stromal cells consistently occurs in the stroma of invasive carcinoma of the breast, irrespective of histological type and may be associated with the presence of ASMA-positive stromal cells. Histol Histopathol 20, 707-712 (2005)

Key words: Breast cancer, Immunohistochemistry, CD34, ASMA

DOI: 10.14670/HH-20.707