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Updated: Jun 26, 2026

The Soft Agar Colony Formation Assay
Published on: October 27, 2014
beta-catenin gene mutation in invasive ductal breast cancer
S Kizildag1, B Zengel, E Vardar
1Medical Biology and Genetics Department, Dokuz Eylul University, Faculty of Medicine, Izmir, Turkey. sefa.kizildag@deu.edu.tr
Purpose:
Aberrant accumulation of beta-catenin plays an important role in a variety of human neoplasms. In this study we analyzed the somatic mutations of the beta-catenin gene and the immunohistochemical localization of beta-catenin and cyclin D1 in invasive ductal breast cancer.
Materials And Methods:
We investigated 65 human invasive ductal breast cancer samples for somatic mutations in the exons 3, 4, 5 and 6 of beta-catenin gene (N-terminal region) by the combined use of polymerase chain reaction (PCR), single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) and sequencing. Sample tissues were also analyzed using beta-catenin and cyclin D1 immunocytochemistry staining.
Results:
No beta-catenin mutation was detected in any of the tumor samples. Accumulation of aberrant beta-catenin protein in cellular compartments in the same breast cancer samples was confirmed with a related experiment by immunocytochemical methods.
Conclusion:
Our results suggest that genetic defects in beta-catenin is not common in invasive ductal breast cancers, whereas mutations in other components of the Wnt signaling pathway should be considered.
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