Microvessel density recognized by Endoglin as prognostic markers in breast carcinoma

Objective: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the Microvessel density(MVD) recognized by Endoglin (CD105) expression in invasive ductal carcinomas (IDC) and precancerous lesions patients including ductal carcinoma in situ(DCIS) and atypical ductal hyperplasia(ADH), as well as to analyze the relationship between the MVD recognized by Endoglin expression with other stan prognostic parameters, such as size, grade, stage of the disease, metastases, and tumour recurrence. Methods: We analyzed the MVD recognized by CD105 and CD105 expression in IDC (n=128), DCIS (n=89) and ADH (n=57). Fifty-three cases of usual ductal hyperplasia (UDH) breast tissues were selected as a control group. Results were correlated with survival and other standard prognostic parameters, such as size, grade, stage of the disease, metastases, and patient survival. Results: The MVD based on CDl05 expression had statistical significance in IDC, DCIS, ADH and UDH groups, MVD the peripheral area adjacent to the lesion was significantly higher than those central area within the lesion in every group(P< 0.01 for each group). Conclusions: The MVD recognized by Endoglin might be important biological markers for invasion, lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis and tumour recurrence of IDC. The over-expression of endoglin expression may be useful as an indicator of breast cancer progression and helpful for estimation of recurrence and metastasis risk.