Tumour angiogenesis and p53 protein expression in mammary phyllodes tumors

We examined 186 phyllodes tumors (106 benign, 51 borderline, 29 malignant) for angiogenesis by assessing stromal microvessel density by the hot spot method and assessing p53 protein expression; we correlated these factors with stromal cellularity, margin status, nuclear pleomorphism, mitosis, and stromal overgrowth. Increased degree of malignancy in phyllodes tumors is associated with increased patient age and tumor size. Microvessel density and p53 protein expression also showed a similar increase with malignancy. Using a logistic regression model, microvessel density was shown to be useful in predicting malignancy in phyllodes tumors, independent of key criteria of stromal overgrowth, nuclear pleomorphism, and mitosis. Microvessel density showed correlation with stromal cellularity and margin status, suggesting an interrelationship between these parameters. P53 protein expression showed a positive correlation with microvessel density, suggesting possible overlap in the underlying mechanism of these two factors in the pathogenesis of phyllodes tumors. The numbers of recurrences and metastases are small in our series, and no significant difference was demonstrated in microvessel density and p53 protein expression compared with the primary. We conclude that microvessel density and p53 are useful as independent criteria in evaluating malignancy in phyllodes tumors.