• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.15 no.3
• /
• pp.1339-1344
• /
• 2014

Aims: Alterations in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) have been implicated in carcinogenesis and tumor progression. We here evaluated the diagnostic and prognostic potential of mtDNA as a biomarker for breast cancer. Methods: Using multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction, nuclear DNA (nDNA) and mtDNA levels in serum, buffy coat, tumor, and tumor-adjacent tissue samples from 50 breast cancer patients were determined and assessed for associations with clinicopathological features. To evaluate mtDNA as a biomarker for distinguishing between the four sample types, we created receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Results: The mtDNA levels in buffy coat were significantly lower than in other sample types. Relative to tumor-adjacent tissue, reduced levels of mtDNA were identified in buffy coat and tumor tissue but not in serum. According to ROC curve analysis, mtDNA levels could be used to distinguish between buffy coat and tumor-adjacent tissue samples with good sensitivity (77%) and specificity (83%). Moreover, mtDNA levels in serum and tumor tissue were positively associated with cancer TMN stage. Conclusions: The mtDNA levels in blood samples may represent a promising, non-invasive biomarker in breast cancer patients. Additional, large-scale validation studies are required to establish the potential use of mtDNA levels in the early diagnosis and monitoring of breast cancer.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
• /
• v.20 no.6
• /
• pp.1502-1506
• /
• 2006

To investigate the inhibitory effects of Citaowan (CTW) on the growth and angiogenesis of breast cancer in vivo. Orthotopic breast cancer model was established by injection of MDA-MB-231 cells into mammary fat pad of nude mice. Seven weeks after injection, CTW was orally administered at dose of 50, 100 mg/mouse every day for 40 days. Body weight, tumor volume, tumor apoptosis, microvessel density and tumor proliferation were evaluated, after the mice were sacrificed. The body weight and tumor volume were not significantly changed in CTW group compared with the control group. Tumor apoptosis, proliferation and microvessel density were significantly reduced in CTW group (100 mg/mouse) compared with the control group. These data indicate that CTW has anti-angiogenic and proapoptotic effects on breast cancer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.13 no.5
• /
• pp.1901-1906
• /
• 2012

Background: The discovery that microRNA (miRNA) regulates metastasis provide a principal molecular basis for tumor heterogeneity. A characteristic of solid tumors is their heterogenous distribution of blood vessels, with significant hypoxia occurring in regions (centers of tumor) of low blood flow. It is necessary to discover the mechanism of breast cancer metastasis in relation to the fact that there is a differential distribution of crucial microRNA in tumors from centers to edges. Methods: Breast tissues from 48 patients (32 patients with breast cancer) were classified into the high invasive and metastatic group (HIMG), low invasive and metastatic group (LIMG), and normal group. Samples were collected from both the centers and edges of all tumors. The first six specimens were detected by microRNA array, and the second ten specimens were detected by real-time qRT-PCR and Western blot analyses. Correlation analysis was performed between the miRNAs and target proteins. Results: The relative content of miR-20a and miR-20b was lower in the center of the tumor than at the edge in the LIMG, lower at the edge of the tumor than in the center in the HIMG, and lower in breast cancer tissues than in normal tissues. VEGF-A and HIF-1alpha mRNA levels were higher in the HIMG than in the LIMG, and levels were higher in both groups than in the normal group; there was no difference in mRNA levels between the edge and center of the tumor. VEGF-A and HIF-1alpha protein levels were higher in the HIMG than in the LIMG, and protein levels in both groups were higher than in the normal group; there was a significant difference in protein expression between the edge and center of the tumor. Correlation analysis showed that the key miRNAs (miR-20a and miR-20b) negatively correlated with the target proteins (VEGF-A and HIF-1alpha). Conclusions: Our data suggest that miR-20a and miR-20b are differentially distributed in breast cancer, while VEGF-A and HIF-1alpha mRNA had coincident distributions, and VEGF-A and HIF-1alpha proteins had uneven and opposing distributions to the miRNAs. It appears that one of the most important facets underlying metastatic heterogeneity is the differential distribution of miR-20a and miR-20b and their regulation of target proteins.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.15 no.15
• /
• pp.6349-6352
• /
• 2014

The present study was undertaken to determine the roles of insulin in the growth of transplanted breast cancer in nude mice, and the proliferation and migration of MCF-7 human breast cancer cells and assess its influence on downstream signaling pathways. In a xenograft mouse model with injection of MCF-7 human breast cancer cells, tumor size was measured every other day. The insulin level and insulin receptor (IR) were increased in the breast cancer patient tissues. Insulin injected subcutaneously around the tumor site in mice caused increase in the size and weight of tumor masses, and promoted proliferation and migration of MCF-7 cells. The effects of insulin on the increase in the proliferation and migration of MCF-7 human breast cancer cells were abolished by pretreatment with the extracellular regulated kinase (ERK) inhibitor PD98059. Insulin increased the phosphorylation of ERK in the MCF-7 cells. These results indicate that insulin promotes the growth of breast cancer in nude mice, and increases the proliferation and migration of MCF-7 human breast cancer cells via the ERK pathway.

• The Korean Journal of Cytopathology
• /
• v.9 no.2
• /
• pp.213-219
• /
• 1998

Glycogen-rich clear ceil carcinoma of the breast is an unusual variant of carcinoma with a recorded incidence of $1.4{\sim}3%$ of breast carcinomas. The cytologic characteristics have not been well described. We report two cases of glycogen-rich clear cell carcinoma with corresponding fine needle aspiration(FNA) cytologic findings and compare them to infiltrating ductal carcinoma and other clear ceil malignancies with a review of literature. One was a 62-year-old woman exhibiting a palpable mass of the right breast. The smears showed atypical tight cell clusters and individually scattered single cells containing leanly or clear abundant cytoplasm with well defined cytoplasmic margins. Mild to moderate nuclear pleomorphism and a prominent nucleolus were present. The other was a 42-year-old woman who was admitted with a right breast mass. The smears showed moderately cellular, tightly cohesive tumor cells. The cytoplasmic outline was generally well demarcated. The tumor cells Contained foamy to clear abundant cytoplasm with large and small vacuoles. The nuclear pleomorphism was marked. Both tumors resected by modified radical mastectomy, were diagnosed as glycogen-rich clear cell carcinoma. Histologically, the clear cell nature of tumor cells were not characteristic enough to predict this type of the tumor. Some cytologic features can be distinguished other clear cell breast cancer from glycogen-rich carcinoma. Recognition of these unusual patterns in a breast FNAC should raise the suspicion of a clear cell carcinoma including glycogen-rich subtype. Cytological localization of glycogen using PAS and D-PAS staining may permit the correct Identification and differential diagnosis of this tumor.

• The Korean Journal of Cytopathology
• /
• v.18 no.2
• /
• pp.157-160
• /
• 2007

Granular cell tumor (GCT) of the breast is a rare clinical entity, and is believed to be of schwannian origin and to follow a benign clinical course. A 50-year-old woman presented with a slowly growing mass in the right breast. Fine needle aspiration cytology revealed a cellular smear containing isolated or clustered cells showing round to oval nuclei with abundant oncocytic granular cytoplasm. Nuclei showed a fine granular chromatin pattern and occasional small single nucleoli. Cell boundaries were poorly defined, and naked nuclei were frequently found, Histologically, the tumor showed features of typical GCT, and immunohistochemical staining findings strongly supported the diagnosis. The present study demonstrates that GCT of the breast can mimic malignant lesions of breast both clinically and radiologically. The recognition of its cytologic features and suspicion of this lesion would undoubtedly aid the correct diagnosis of mammary GCT.

• Journal of Korea Multimedia Society
• /
• v.24 no.8
• /
• pp.1000-1011
• /
• 2021

In recent years, using Deep Learning methods to apply for medical and biomedical image analysis has seen many advancements. In clinical, using Deep Learning-based approaches for cancer image analysis is one of the key applications for cancer detection and treatment. However, the scarcity and shortage of labeling images make the task of cancer detection and analysis difficult to reach high accuracy. In 2015, the Unet model was introduced and gained much attention from researchers in the field. The success of Unet model is the ability to produce high accuracy with very few input images. Since the development of Unet, there are many variants and modifications of Unet related architecture. This paper proposes a new approach of using Unet++ with pretrained EfficientNet as backbone architecture for breast tumor cell nuclei segmentation and uses the multi-organ transfer learning approach to segment nuclei of breast tumor cells. We attempt to experiment and evaluate the performance of the network on the MonuSeg training dataset and Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) testing dataset, both are Hematoxylin and Eosin (H & E)-stained images. The results have shown that EfficientUnet++ architecture and the multi-organ transfer learning approach had outperformed other techniques and produced notable accuracy for breast tumor cell nuclei segmentation.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
• /
• v.21 no.4
• /
• pp.269-272
• /
• 2017

Periductal stromal sarcoma (PSS) is a type of rare malignant fibroepithelial tumor. PSS is a recently introduced diagnostic entity and there are few reports about radiological features of this tumor. Pre-operative diagnosis is difficult because it reveals similar symptoms with other benign and malignant tumors with absence of specific radiologic findings. We present a woman age 30 that underwent mammotome biopsy for a BI-RADS 4 lesion on her left breast and received histopathology diagnosis of a phyllodes tumor. Additionally, she underwent a wide excision depending on her histopathology diagnosis. Her final diagnosis was PSS. Six months later, no recurrence was detected. However, frequent follow-up is needed because PSS can develop into phyllodes tumor or entity of breast cancer.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
• /
• v.53 no.4
• /
• pp.369-380
• /
• 2020

Purpose: It has been previously reported that breast tumor incidence, growth, and metastasis are stimulated by high-fat diet but reduced by caloric restriction. However, few studies have elucidated the effects of dietary change from a high-fat diet after breast cancer initiation. Therefore, in this study, we attempted to provide practical assistance to breast cancer prevention and management by investigating the effects of dietary change from a high-fat diet to normal diet on breast cancer growth and metastasis. Methods: The experimental animals were divided into 2 groups (high-fat diet control [HFC] group and diet restriction [DR] group) and consumed a high-fat diet for 8 weeks. 4T1 cells were transplanted into subcutaneous fat or tail vein to measure the growth and metastasis of breast cancer. The HFC and DR groups continuously ingested either high-fat diet or AIG-93G diet for 5 weeks or 3 weeks, respectively. Cell proliferation and apoptosis markers from tumor tissues were analyzed by Western blot analysis. The data were analyzed using the SPSS 25.0 package program. Results: The results show that the DR group significantly reduced breast tumor initiation, growth, and tumor tissue weight compared to the HFC group. The DR group suppressed tumor growth by decreasing proliferation and inducing apoptosis through down-regulation of Bcl-xL and up-regulation of caspase-3 activity. Furthermore, the DR group significantly reduced numbers of metastasized tumors in lung tissues. Conclusion: These results suggest that dietary change from a high-fat diet to normal diet decreased breast growth by reducing cell proliferation and inducing apoptosis and metastasis. Taken together, these results indicate that dietary change to a low-fat and balanced diet might suppress breast tumor growth and metastasis even after tumor diagnosis.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.17 no.3
• /
• pp.1003-1008
• /
• 2016

Breast cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death in women worldwide. Cancer progression is driven not only by cancer cell intrinsic alterations and interactions with tumor microenvironment, but also by systemic effects. Integration of multiple profiling data may provide insights into the underlying molecular mechanisms of complex systemic processes. We performed a bioinformatic analysis of two public available microarray datasets for breast tumor stroma and peripheral blood mononuclear cells, featuring integrated transcriptomics data, protein-protein interactions (PPIs) and protein subcellular localization, to identify genes and biological pathways that contribute to dialogue between tumor stroma and the peripheral circulation. Genes of the integrin family as well as CXCR4 proved to be hub nodes of the crosstalk network and may play an important role in response to stroma-derived chemoattractants. This study pointed to potential for development of therapeutic strategies that target systemic signals travelling through the circulation and interdict tumor cell recruitment.