Immunohistochemical Analysis of Cathepsin D in Breast Carcinoma

Abstract

capability of non-differentiated breast cancer cells and is useful in predicting high grade tumors. A significance correlation is observed in this study between over-expression of cathepsin-D and tumor size suggesting that over-expression of cathepsin-D in human breast cancer cells might play an active role in the tumor progression that leads Lo metastasis. Cathepsin-D expression is more in invasive ductal carcinoma than in invasive lobular carcinoma, .poor expression of cathepsin-D observed in malignant cells in medullary carcinoma. This expression correlates with the aggressive biological behaviour of different histologic types. The increasing expression of cathepsin-D in the node positive cases, confirms the suggestion that cathepsin-D, as a protease, is associated with a metastatic potential.