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Updated: May 28, 2026
Application of AlDeSense to Stratify Ovarian Cancer Cells Based on Aldehyde Dehydrogenase 1A1 Activity
Published on: March 31, 2023
Aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 expression predicts poor prognosis in triple-negative breast cancer
Yasuyo Ohi1, Yoshihisa Umekita, Takako Yoshioka
1Hakuaikai Sagara Hospital Department of Molecular and Cellular Pathology, Field of Oncology, Kagoshima University, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Kagoshima, Japan.
Aims:
Aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 (ALDH1) has been identified as a reliable marker of breast cancer stem cells, and its clinical significance as a prognostic indicator of breast cancer has been reported by several investigators. However, the clinical significance of ALDH1 expression in triple-negative (TN) breast cancer, a high-risk breast cancer lacking the benefit of specific therapy, remains to be solved.
Methods And Results:
We performed immunohistochemical analyses of 106 TN breast cancers, using paraffin-embedded sections. The basal-like phenotype was also investigated with the use of basal cytokeratin 5/6 and epidermal growth factor receptor. ALDH1 expression in carcinoma cells was found in 59% of cases and was correlated with high histological grade alone (P < 0.006), whereas ALDH1 expression in stromal cells was found in 49% of cases but was not correlated with any clinicopathological parameter. Patients with ALDH1 expression in carcinoma cells had a shorter relapse-free survival (RFS) according to the log-rank test (P = 0.015). According to Cox multivariate analysis, ALDH1 expression in carcinoma cells was an independent prognostic indicator of RFS (P = 0.025). The log-rank test revealed that stromal expression of ALDH1 had no effect on RFS.
Conclusions:
ALDH1 expression in carcinoma cells is an independent prognostic factor in TN breast cancer patients.
