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Elevated cyclooxygenase-2 expression correlates with distant metastases in breast cancer
Gurpreet Singh Ranger1, Valerie Thomas, Andrew Jewell
1Breast Cancer Unit, St. George's Hospital and Medical School, Level 3, St. James' Wing, Blackshaw Road, Tooting, London, SW17 0QT, UK.
Background:
Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) overexpression clearly plays an important role in the pathogenesis of breast cancer. In this study, we analysed the relationship between COX-2 expression and various clinicopathological factors in human breast cancer.
Materials And Methods:
Using immunohistochemistry, we analysed archival specimens of human breast cancer (n=29) using antibodies to COX-2, ER, PgR and HER2 and, from medical records, obtained clinicopathological data.
Results:
We observed a significant association between COX-2 overexpression and distant metastasis. COX-2 expression was not significantly associated with any other clinical or pathological variable.
Conclusion:
These findings lend support to the hypothesis that COX-2 overexpression represents an adverse prognostic event in human breast cancer and are encouraging for proposed strategies of COX-2 suppression to treat the disease.