Stromelysin-3 expression in breast cancer biopsies: clinico-pathological correlations

Stromelysin-3 expression was studied by Northern blotting in 222 tissue samples including primary and metastatic breast carcinoma and normal breast tissue. Uninvolved breast tissue from mastectomy specimens, normal breast tissue from reduction mammoplasties and normal lymph nodes did not contain stromelysin-3 mRNA. About 62% of primary and metastatic breast carcinomas, but only 1 of 10 in situ ductal carcinomas, expressed stromelysin-3. Stromelysin-3 mRNA was found more often in estrogen-receptor-positive carcinomas and in histological grade-1 carcinomas. There was no significant correlation between stromelysin-3 expression and other prognostic factors, including tumor size, lymph-node involvement, age of patient, vascular invasion and cathepsin-D.