Telomere shortening in breast cancer correlates with the pathological features of tumor progression

Kammori,Makoto; Sugishita,Yoshiyuki; Okamoto,Takahiro; Kobayashi,Makio; Yamazaki,Kazuko; Yamada,Emiko; Yamada,Tetsu

doi:10.3892/or.2015.4063

Telomere shortening in breast cancer correlates with the pathological features of tumor progression

Authors:
- Makoto Kammori
- Yoshiyuki Sugishita
- Takahiro Okamoto
- Makio Kobayashi
- Kazuko Yamazaki
- Emiko Yamada
- Tetsu Yamada
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Affiliations: Department of Surgery, Kanaji Thyroid Hospital, Kita-ku, Tokyo 114‑0015, Japan, Department of Laboratory, Kanaji Thyroid Hospital, Kita-ku, Tokyo 114‑0015, Japan, Department of Surgery, Division of Surgical Endocrinology, Tokyo Women's Medical University, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-0054, Japan, Department of Pathology 1, Tokyo Women's Medical University, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-0054, Japan, Department of Medicine, Kanaji Thyroid Hospital, Kita-ku, Tokyo 114‑0015, Japan
Published online on: June 15, 2015 https://doi.org/10.3892/or.2015.4063
Pages: 627-632

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Abstract

Telomeres are involved in the maintenance of genomic stability. Telomere alteration has been observed in most human cancer types, and is known to be a feature of malignancy. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether the telomere length of breast cancer cells correlates with TNM stage and several pathological features. We investigated a total of 44 breast cancers, including 17 scirrhous, 15 papillotubular and 12 solid-tubular carcinomas. Telomere lengths were determined by tissue quantitative fluorescence in situ hybridization (Q-FISH), and compared according to the TNM stage, histological tumor size, lymph node metastases, vascular invasion and immunohistochemical status (ER, PR, HER2 status and Ki67 labeling index). In all histological types, telomeres of cancer cells were significantly shorter than those of normal epithelial cells. Mean telomere length was significantly less in patients with TNM stage III, and in those with large tumors, lymph node metastases and vascular invasion. Our results suggest that the telomere length of cancer cells is strongly correlated with the degree of cancer progression.

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