TIP30/CC3 expression in breast carcinoma: relation to metastasis, clinicopathologic parameters, and P53 expression

Metastasis is the most frequent cause of death in patients with breast cancer. Tip30/CC3 gene is a putative metastasis suppressor gene, which was first identified by a differential display analysis of messenger RNA from the highly metastatic human variant small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) versus less metastatic classic SCLC cell lines. The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between expression of TIP30/CC3 and clinical prognosis in 87 patients with surgically removed breast carcinoma. Tumor tissues were stained immunohistochemically with anti-TIP30/CC3 antibody. We demonstrated that the expression of TIP30/CC3 was inversely associated with axillary lymph node metastasis (P = .0008) and vascular invasion (P = .0016). Expression of TIP30/CC3 was not correlated with tumor grade, estrogen, progesterone, and P53 expression. Inhibition of TIP30/CC3 expression by RNA-mediated interference greatly enhanced breast cancer cell invasion through the extracellular matrix, whereas overexpression of TIP30/CC3 by adenovirus vector suppressed invasion through the extracellular matrix. These data supported the theory that the expression of TIP30/CC3 had a suppressive function on tumor metastasis. In summary, the decrease in expression of TIP30/CC3 is related to metastasis and may represent a new prognosticator in breast carcinoma.