Expression of cyclooxygenase-2 and its relation to histological grade, inducible nitric oxide synthase, matrix metalloproteinase-2, CD-34, Caspase-3, and CD8 in invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast

OBJECTIVE: To assess by immunohistochemistry the cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression in invasive ductal carcinoma and its possible correlation with the histological grade, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP2), and other common immunohistochemical parameters (CD-34, Caspase-3, and CD8).

METHODS: This was a retrospective pathology archive study including 50 female patients and was performed in Mustafa Kemal University, Hatay, and Sutcu Imam University, Kahraman Maras, Turkey. The routine hematoxylin-eosin staining and COX-2, iNOS, MMP-2, CD-34, CASP-3, and CD8 immunoperoxidase techniques were performed on paraffin-embedded tissues.

RESULTS: The mean value of COX-2 was 274.02+/-54.49 and MMP-2 was 263.42+/-54.30, whereas the mean iNOS values were 258.10+/-56.05. CD-34 staining also yielded positive results as 26.18+/-8.00. The mean value of CASP-3 was 284.06+/-41.2 and CD8 was 164.17+/-69.5. This reveals an inverse correlation between CASP-3 reactivity and CD8 (Spearman correlation [r]= -0.33, p=0.01). There was also an inverse correlation between iNOS reactivity and patients age (r = -0.29, p=0.03). There was a positive correlation with COX-2 and MMP-2 (p=0.00), but there was no relation with COX-2 and other parameters.

CONCLUSION: COX-2 expression is an important parameter for invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast. We found a positive correlation between COX-2 and MMP-2, whereas, we could not show direct correlation between COX-2 and iNOS, CD-34, CASP-3, and CD8.