Sadako Akashi-Tanaka

National Cancer Center, Tokyo, Tokyo-to, Japan

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Publications (73)177.37 Total impact

  • Article: A comparative study on the value of dual tracer PET/CT to evaluate breast cancer. (18) F-FDG PET/CT images reveal a focal hypermetabolic focus of the primary tumor (upper panel), whereas (11) C-choline PET/CT images reveal only a focal hypermetabolic focus in the primary tumor (lower panel).
    Cancer Science 09/2012; 103(9):Septembercover. · 3.33 Impact Factor
  • Article: Evaluation of the usefulness of breast CT imaging in delineating tumor extent and guiding surgical management: a prospective multi-institutional study.
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    ABSTRACT: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the usefulness of computed tomographic (CT) imaging in delineating tumor extent and guiding surgical management. The routine use of preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a controversial issue in breast cancer management. Negative studies with regard to the utility of MRI might be due to differences in positioning during imaging and subsequent surgery. Candidates for breast-conserving surgery were eligible for the study. The surgeons marked the line of planned excision on the skin, which was also recorded on the CT image. Contrast-enhanced breast CT was performed in the supine surgical position. The CT results were used to help determine the extent of resection. The pathological findings were then compared with the CT-guided surgical plans. A total of 297 patients were involved. The surgeons widened the extent of resection in 42 (14.1%, 95% confidence interval 10.1%-18.1%) patients on the basis of the CT findings. Among the 6 patients whose procedures were changed to mastectomy, 4 had pathologically multicentric tumors and 2 had widely spread intraductal components. The remaining 36 patients underwent quadrantectomy instead of wide excision on the basis of the CT images. There were 3 patients in whom conversion from wide excision to quadrantectomy resulted in overexcision. Preoperative breast CT may have reduced the positive margin rate and also correctly changed the extent of surgery in 13.1% of patients. This prospective study suggests that breast CT, carried out in the supine position, is useful in the preoperative determination of the optimal surgical procedure.
    Annals of surgery 07/2012; 256(1):157-62. · 7.90 Impact Factor
  • Article: Comparative study of the value of dual tracer PET/CT in evaluating breast cancer.
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    ABSTRACT: The present study was conducted to assess the relationship between tumor uptake and pathologic findings using dual-tracer PET/computed tomography (CT) in patients with breast cancer. Seventy-four patients with breast cancer (mean age 54 years) who underwent (11)C-choline and 2-[(18)F]fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose ((18)F-FDG) PET/CT prior to surgery on the same day were enrolled in the present study. Images were reviewed by a board-certified radiologist and two nuclear medicine specialists who were unaware of any clinical information and a consensus was reached. Uptake patterns and measurements of dual tracers were compared with the pathologic findings of resected specimens as the reference standard. Mean (±SD) tumor size was 5.9 ± 3.2 cm. All primary tumors were identified on (18)F-FDG PET/CT and (11)C-choline PET/CT. However, (18)F-FDG PET/CT demonstrated focal uptake of the primary tumor with (n = 38; 51%) or without (n = 36; 49%) diffuse background breast uptake. Of the pathologic findings, multiple logistic regression analysis revealed an independent association between fibrocystic change and diffuse background breast uptake (odds ratio [OR] 8.57; 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.86-25.66; P < 0.0001). Tumors with higher histologic grade, nuclear grade, structural grade, nuclear atypia, and mitosis had significantly higher maximum standardized uptake values (SUV(max)) and tumor-to-background ratios (TBR) for both tracers. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that only the degree of mitosis was independently associated with a high SUV(max) (OR 7.45; 95%CI 2.21-25.11; P = 0.001) and a high TBR (OR 5.41; 95%CI 1.13-25.96; P = 0.035) of (11)C-choline PET/CT. In conclusion, (11)C-choline may improve tumor delineation and reflect tumor aggressiveness on PET/CT in patients with breast cancer.
    Cancer Science 05/2012; 103(9):1701-7. · 3.33 Impact Factor
  • Article: Two special types of breast cancer presenting as progressive disease after neoadjuvant chemotherapy with docetaxel plus doxorubicin
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    ABSTRACT: Seventy-eight patients with primary breast cancer over 3 cm in diameter in stages IIA, IIB, IIIA. and III B according to the UICC classification received neoadjuvant chemotherapy from August 1, 1998 to June 30, 2000 at the Breast Division of the National Cancer Center Hospital. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy consisted of doxorubicin (Adriamycin: ADM) 50 mg/m2 and docetaxel (Taxotere: DOC) 60 mg/m2 every three weeks. The overall clinical response to this regimen was 88% (69/78). Although neoadjuvant chemotherapy with this regimen achieved good responses in patients with breast cancer, 2 patients presented with progressive disease (PD) after treatment. One patient had inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) and the other had primary squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the breast. There were 4 cases of IBC and one case of SCC of the breast who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy in this series. Our observations suggest that this regimen might not be effective for these types of breast cancer.
    Breast Cancer 04/2012; 8(3):234-237. · 1.36 Impact Factor
  • Article: A proposal for the histopathological diagnosis of ductal carcinoma in situ of the Breast
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    ABSTRACT: BackgroundAs the incidence of ductal carcinomain situ (DCIS) is increasing, it is necessary to make a guideline for the pathological examination and diagnosis of DCIS, by creating criteria based on clinical and biological aspects of the disease. MethodWe collected biopsy specimens originally diagnosed as benign lesions, from patients who subsequently developed invasive carcinoma in the ipsilateral breast. The histology of the biopsy specimens was re-evaluated principally according to the 1995 Philadelphia Consensus on DCIS. Histopathological agreement on each biopsy specimen was made by the JBCS Study Group members under a multiviewer microscope. In the course of making conclusive agreements among the pathologists, we developed a consensus for the histopathological diagnosis of DCIS, especially non-comedo types. ResultsDCIS is defined as a carcinoma of ductal epithelial origin, without any evidence of stromal invasion. It is necessary to note the methods of pathologic examination required to diagnose DCIS. Stromal invasion is an important prognostic factor, and should be diagnosed with caution. Classification of proliferative ductal lesions as benign or malignant (DCIS), the subtype of DCIS (nuclear grade, architecture, and necrosis), and the histological grading of DCIS are proposed and recommended ConclusionAlthough we have made a new proposal according to current concepts, there are still several unresolved problems. Thus further examination and modification will be necessary in the future.
    Breast Cancer 04/2012; 7(4):321-325. · 1.36 Impact Factor
  • Article: Loss of heterozygosity on chromosome 16q suggests malignancy in core needle biopsy specimens of intraductal papillary breast lesions.
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    ABSTRACT: It is often difficult to make a definitive diagnosis of papillary breast lesions using core needle biopsy (CNB) specimens. We studied loss of heterozygosity (LOH) on chromosome 16q in order to assess its diagnostic use for papillary breast lesions in CNB specimens. Of 25 patients with intraductal papillary breast tumors, we extracted DNA from paired samples of tumor cells from CNB specimens and non-tumor cells from subsequent excision specimens and analyzed LOH at the D16S419 and D16S514 loci on chromosome 16q. LOH analysis results were compared with final diagnoses based on pathological features of the resected specimens. On the CNB specimens, 21 tumors were histologically diagnosed as indeterminate or suspicious for malignancy, while four tumors were unambiguously malignant. Of the 21 indeterminate or suspicious tumors, 11 were finally diagnosed as benign and ten as malignant, and on these, LOH analyses were informative for 8 of the 11 benign tumors and 7 of the 10 malignant tumors. LOH was also informative on two of the four tumors unambiguously malignant on CNB. None of the eight informative benign tumors showed LOH on 16q. Six of the eleven informative malignant tumors showed LOH on 16q. LOH on 16q was significantly different between CNB specimens of benign and malignant intraductal papillary tumors (P = 0.007). Analysis of LOH on 16q may be helpful in making a definitive diagnosis in cases of papillary breast lesions, in both excised and CNB specimens.
    Archiv für Pathologische Anatomie und Physiologie und für Klinische Medicin 04/2012; 460(5):497-504. · 2.49 Impact Factor
  • Article: Development of a novel approach, the epigenome-based outlier approach, to identify tumor-suppressor genes silenced by aberrant DNA methylation.
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    ABSTRACT: Identification of tumor-suppressor genes (TSGs) silenced by aberrant methylation of promoter CpG islands (CGIs) is important, but hampered by a large number of genes methylated as passengers of carcinogenesis. To overcome this issue, we here took advantage of the fact that the vast majority of genes methylated in cancers lack, in normal cells, RNA polymerase II (Pol II) and have trimethylation of histone H3 lysine 27 (H3K27me3) in their promoter CGIs. First, we demonstrated that three of six known TSGs in breast cancer and two of three in colon cancer had Pol II and lacked H3K27me3 in normal cells, being outliers to the general rule. BRCA1, HOXA5, MLH1, and RASSF1A had high Pol II, but were expressed only at low levels in normal cells, and were unlikely to be identified as outliers by their expression statuses in normal cells. Then, using epigenome statuses (Pol II binding and H3K27me3) in normal cells, we made a genome-wide search for outliers in breast cancers, and identified 14 outlier promoter CGIs. Among these, DZIP1, FBN2, HOXA5, and HOXC9 were confirmed to be methylated in primary breast cancer samples. Knockdown of DZIP1 in breast cancer cell lines led to increases of their growth, suggesting it to be a novel TSG. The outliers based on their epigenome statuses contained unique TSGs, including DZIP1, compared with those identified by the expression microarray data. These results showed that the epigenome-based outlier approach is capable of identifying a different set of TSGs, compared to the expression-based outlier approach.
    Cancer letters 03/2012; 322(2):204-12. · 4.86 Impact Factor
  • Article: Ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence (IBTR) in patients with operable breast cancer who undergo breast-conserving treatment after receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy: Risk factors of IBTR and validation of the MD Anderson Prognostic Index.
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    ABSTRACT: There is limited information about the risk factors for ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence (IBTR) after patients undergo breast-conserving surgery plus radiotherapy (breast-conserving treatment [BCT]) subsequent to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). The objective of the current study was to analyze these risk factors. The authors collected data from 375 patients who underwent BCT and received NAC and analyzed the risk of IBTR associated with undergoing BCT after NAC. The usefulness of the MD Anderson Prognostic Index (MDAPI) for IBTR also was validated using the current data set. The median follow-up was 47.8 months, and the 4-year IBTR-free survival rate was 95.6%. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that estrogen receptor (ER) status and multifocality of the residual tumor were associated significantly with IBTR-free survival. In addition, patients who had ER-positive and human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2)-negative tumors did not develop IBTR during the observation period. Although prognostic stratification according to MDAPI was relatively good for the prediction of IBTR in the study patients, the IBTR rate in the high-risk group was not very high and was lower than that in the intermediate-risk group. Multivariate analyses demonstrated that IBTR was an independent predictive factor for overall survival. ER status and multifocality of the residual tumor after NAC were independent predictors of IBTR after BCT. The MDAPI was barely adaptable to the study patients in terms of predicting IBTR. Patients with ER-positive and HER2-negative tumors had a favorable prognosis, whereas patients who developed IBTR after NAC had significantly worse overall survival. The authors propose a new IBTR prognostic index using the 2 factors that were identified as predictive of IBTR: ER status and multifocality of the residual tumor. Cancer 2012. © 2012 American Cancer Society.
    Cancer 01/2012; 118(18):4385-93. · 4.77 Impact Factor
  • Article: Preoperative CT evaluation of intraductal spread of breast cancer and surgical treatment.
    Sadako Akashi-Tanaka
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    ABSTRACT: It is always a challenge to accurately determine the appropriate extent of resection in breast-conserving surgery (BCS), in order to reduce the need for re-excision, prevent local recurrence, and optimize cosmetic results. Detecting intraductal spread alone with high sensitivity may not be enough to realize safe BCS. Computed tomography carried out with the patient in the supine position accompanied by adequate marking is effective for preoperative determination of the optimum extent of BCS.
    Breast Cancer 12/2011; · 1.36 Impact Factor
  • Article: Important histologic outcome predictors for patients with invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast.
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    ABSTRACT: The pathologic diagnosis is regarded as the final diagnosis of a disease, and pathologic examination based on tumor histology is very important for the accurate assessment of the biological characteristics of tumors. The purpose of this study was to investigate the histologic factors that accurately predict patient outcome among 1042 patients with invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast. Both well-known histologic factors and our proposed histologic factors were examined according to several tumor statuses using multivariate analysis. This study clearly demonstrated that type 4 invasive ductal carcinomas having fibrotic foci and atypical tumor-stromal fibroblasts within the fibrotic foci are significant outcome predictors for lymph node-negative and lymph node-positive, the pathologic UICC-TNM stage II and III, luminal A-subtype, luminal B-subtype, and equivocal HER2 subtype invasive ductal carcinoma patients. Lymph vessel tumor embolus grades 2 and 3 were significant outcome predictors for lymph node-positive, UICC pTNM stages II and III, luminal A-subtype, and triple-negative invasive ductal carcinoma patients (except lymph vessel tumor embolus grade 2 in luminal A-subtype patients). More than 5 mitotic figures in metastatic carcinoma to the lymph nodes was a significant outcome predictor for lymph node-positive, UICC pTNM stage II, and luminal A-subtype invasive ductal carcinoma patients. A fibrotic focus diameter >8 mm was a significant outcome predictor for UICC pTNM stages I and III invasive ductal carcinoma patients. These findings strongly suggest that these histologic factors are very useful for accurately predicting the outcomes of patients with invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast.
    The American journal of surgical pathology 08/2011; 35(10):1484-97. · 4.06 Impact Factor
  • Article: Feasibility of breast conserving surgery for Paget's disease.
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    ABSTRACT: The standard treatment for Paget's disease of the breast is mastectomy. Since it is frequently associated with underlying carcinoma, many surgeons are reluctant to choose breast conserving surgery for Paget's disease. We retrospectively analyzed a series of 59 patients with Paget's disease who had undergone mastectomy at the National Cancer Center Hospital between 1963 and 2009. In 55 of 59 cases (93%) there was underlying carcinoma in the ipsilateral breast. Clinically, 27 (46%) patients had no evidence of other tumors, but 23 (85%) had underlying histopathologically confirmed carcinoma. Based on the data from this subset, cone excision with a 3-cm radius and a 4-cm radius could completely resect any underlying malignancy in 74% and 85% of patients, respectively. As Paget's disease is frequently accompanied by underlying intraductal and/or invasive carcinoma, patients should be carefully selected for breast conserving surgery.
    Breast (Edinburgh, Scotland) 06/2011; 20(6):515-8. · 2.09 Impact Factor
  • Article: Prognostic significance of mitotic figures in metastatic mammary ductal carcinoma to the lymph nodes.
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    ABSTRACT: We previously reported that the number of mitotic figures in metastatic mammary carcinoma to the lymph nodes accurately predicted the outcome of patients with invasive ductal carcinoma with nodal metastasis. To confirm these previous findings, the present study investigated the number of mitotic figures and other histologic characteristics in metastatic mammary carcinoma to the lymph nodes and their associations with patient outcome according to nodal status and the histologic grade of primary invasive ductal carcinomas in a different series of 1039 patients with invasive ductal carcinoma. Multivariate analyses examining well-known clinicopathologic factors, the number of mitotic figures in the primary invasive ductal carcinomas, the grading system for lymph vessel tumor emboli, the p53 Allred score risk classes of tumor-stromal fibroblasts forming and not forming a fibrotic focus, and 9 histologic features of metastatic mammary carcinoma to the lymph nodes were performed. The presence of 6 or more mitotic figures in metastatic mammary carcinoma to the lymph nodes significantly increased the hazard ratios for tumor recurrence and tumor-related death among patients with invasive ductal carcinoma as a whole, those with nodal metastasis, and those with a histologic grade of 2 or 3. The presence of 6 or more mitotic figures in metastatic mammary carcinoma to the lymph nodes also significantly increased the hazard ratio for tumor recurrence among patients with histologic grade 1 invasive ductal carcinoma. In conclusion, this study clearly confirmed the excellent outcome predictive power of the number of mitotic figures in metastatic mammary carcinoma to the lymph nodes.
    Human pathology 06/2011; 42(12):1823-32. · 3.03 Impact Factor
  • Article: Atypical tumor-stromal fibroblasts in invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast.
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    ABSTRACT: Tumor-stromal fibroblasts have recently been reported to play important roles in the tumor progression of cancer in various organs. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether any characteristic histologic features of tumor-stromal fibroblasts could accurately predict the outcome of 1042 patients with invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast. We observed a small number of tumor-stromal fibroblasts with characteristic nuclear features existing inside and outside of fibrotic foci and named them atypical tumor-stromal fibroblasts. We then classified invasive ductal carcinomas into 4 types (1, 2, 3, and 4) according to the absence or presence of fibrotic foci and the absence or presence of atypical tumor-stromal fibroblasts. We then analyzed the outcome predictive powers of these types of invasive ductal carcinomas using multivariate analyses that included well-known clinicopathologic factors. The multivariate analyses showed that type 4 invasive ductal carcinomas with fibrotic foci and atypical tumor-stromal fibroblasts had significantly higher hazard ratios for tumor recurrence and tumor-related death, independent of the nodal status and histologic grade, and the type 2 invasive ductal carcinomas without fibrotic foci but with atypical tumor-stromal fibroblasts had a significant higher hazard ratio for tumor recurrence among patients with invasive ductal carcinoma with nodal metastasis and those with histologic grade 3 disease. The results of this study clearly indicated that the presence of atypical tumor-stromal fibroblasts, especially in fibrotic foci, is significantly associated with tumor recurrence and tumor-related death of patients with invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast.
    The American journal of surgical pathology 03/2011; 35(3):325-36. · 4.06 Impact Factor
  • Article: Prognostic factors in young Japanese women with breast cancer: prognostic value of age at diagnosis.
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    ABSTRACT: The primary objective of this study was to verify whether breast cancer patients aged <35 at diagnosis have poorer prognoses than those aged 35-39, in other words, to identify the prognostic value of age in younger premenopausal patients under 40 years old. The secondary objective was to assess prognostic factors specific for younger premenopausal patients. We identified 242 consecutive patients who were diagnosed with stage I-III breast cancer before the age of 40 and underwent surgery between 1990 and 2004. We compared disease-free survival and overall survival in patients aged <35 years and those aged 35-39 years, and evaluated clinicopathological factors associated with disease-free survival or overall survival in each age group and in all patients under the age of 40. Ninety-nine (41%) patients were younger than 35 years and 143 (59%) were between 35 and 39 years. No significant difference in disease-free survival or overall survival was found between the two groups. In our cohort of patients under the age of 40, the independent factors associated with poor disease-free survival and overall survival included positive axillary lymph nodes and triple-negative status, but not age at diagnosis. Adverse prognostic factors also did not differ considerably between the two age groups. Age at diagnosis was not an independent prognostic factor in our study. Our findings suggest that other clinicopathological features rather than age should be used to determine individualized treatment courses for breast cancer patients younger than 40 years.
    Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology 02/2011; 41(2):180-9. · 1.78 Impact Factor
  • Article: Atypical tumor-stromal fibroblasts in invasive ductal carcinomas of the breast treated with neoadjuvant therapy.
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    ABSTRACT: Tumor-stromal fibroblasts have recently been reported to play important roles in the tumor progression of cancer in various organs. The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether any characteristic histologic features of tumor-stromal fibroblasts could accurately predict the outcome of 318 patients with invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast who had received neoadjuvant therapy. We observed a small number of tumor-stromal fibroblasts with characteristic nuclear features existing in the tumor stroma and named these cells "atypical tumor-stromal fibroblasts." We then assessed the absence or presence of atypical tumor-stromal fibroblasts in biopsy (taken before neoadjuvant therapy) and surgical (taken after neoadjuvant therapy) materials and analyzed the outcome predictive powers of the presence of atypical tumor-stromal fibroblasts in biopsy and surgical materials using multivariate analyses that included well-known clinicopathological factors. The multivariate analyses demonstrated that the presence of atypical tumor-stromal fibroblasts assessed using biopsy materials had significantly higher hazard ratios for tumor recurrence and tumor-related death in patients with nodal metastasis and also significantly higher hazard ratios for tumor recurrence and tumor-related death independent of the hormone receptor status of the tumors. The results of this study clearly indicated that the presence of atypical tumor-stromal fibroblasts, especially in biopsy materials, is significantly associated with tumor recurrence and the tumor-related death of patients with invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast who have received neoadjuvant therapy.
    Human pathology 02/2011; 42(7):998-1006. · 3.03 Impact Factor
  • Article: Synchronous unilateral triple breast cancers composed of invasive ductal carcinoma, invasive lobular carcinoma, and Paget's disease.
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    ABSTRACT: We report a case of synchronous unilateral triple breast cancers comprising invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC), invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC), and Paget's disease. A 57-year-old woman with a left breast mass was referred to our hospital. Mammography revealed only an isodense area with foci of microcalcification in the lateral area of the left breast. Ultrasonography revealed 2 hypoechoic masses in the outer lower and inner upper areas, and these 2 lesions were diagnosed by core needle biopsy as ILC and IDC, respectively. Left total mastectomy with sentinel lymph node biopsies was performed. In addition to the ILC and IDC, histological examination also identified Paget's disease. Breast cancer often manifests as multiple unilateral lesions; however, it is sometimes difficult to determine whether these tumors have developed multicentrically or have multifocally invaded from an intraductal carcinoma. This case was clearly diagnosed to have occurred multicentrically because of the absence of continuity among the 3 tumors, the presence of a non-invasive component in all 3 tumors, and different histopathological findings. The synchronous unilateral development of ILCs is well known. Cases of synchronous unilateral triple or more breast cancers were reviewed, and their histopathological characteristics, including the incidence of Paget's disease, is discussed.
    Breast Cancer 12/2010; · 1.36 Impact Factor
  • Article: Up-regulation of PSF1 promotes the growth of breast cancer cells.
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    ABSTRACT: PSF1 is a subunit of the GINS complex that functions along with the MCM2-7 complex and Cdc45 in eukaryotic DNA replication. Although mammalian PSF1 is predominantly expressed in highly proliferating cells and organs, little is known about the roles of PSF1 in mature cells or cancer cells. We found that PSF1 was expressed at relatively high levels in breast tumor cells, but at low levels in normal breast cells. Knockdown of PSF1 expression using small interfering RNA (siRNA) slowed the growth of breast cancer cell lines by delaying DNA replication but did not affect proliferation of normal human mammary epithelial cells. Reduced PSF1 expression also inhibited anchorage-independent growth in breast cancer cell lines. These results suggest that PSF1 over-expression is specifically involved in breast cancer cell growth. Therefore, PSF1 inhibition might provide new therapeutic approaches for breast cancer.
    Genes to Cells 10/2010; 15(10):1015-24. · 2.68 Impact Factor
  • Article: Grading system for lymph vessel tumor emboli: significant outcome predictor for invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast.
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    ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to confirm that the grading system for lymph vessel tumor emboli is a significant histologic outcome predictor for patients with invasive ductal carcinoma. The subjects of this study were 1042 invasive ductal carcinoma patients who did not receive neoadjuvant therapy. We classified all invasive ductal carcinomas according to the grading system for lymph vessel tumor emboli we devised, and performed multivariate analyses with well-known prognostic factors. Of 1042 carcinomas, 666, 250, 97, and 29 were classified according to the grading system for lymph vessel tumor emboli as grade 0 (no lymph vessel invasion), grade 1, grade 2, and grade 3, respectively. The univariate analyses showed that the difference in outcome between the group with grade 0 and the group with grade 1 was not significant, but that survival time was significantly shorter in the group of patients with grade 2 carcinomas than in the group with grade 1 carcinomas and significantly shorter in the group of patients with grade 3 carcinomas than in the group with grade 2 carcinomas. Multivariate analyses demonstrated that having a grade 2 or grade 3 carcinoma significantly increased the hazard rates for tumor recurrence and tumor-related death in the patients as a whole as well as in both the group of patients with nodal metastasis and the group without nodal metastasis. The grading system for lymph vessel tumor emboli is an excellent histologic grading system for predicting the outcome of patients with invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast.
    Human pathology 05/2010; 41(5):706-15. · 3.03 Impact Factor
  • Article: Grading system for lymph vessel tumor emboli: significant outcome predictor for patients with invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast who received neoadjuvant therapy.
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    ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to confirm that the grades of lymph vessel tumor emboli in biopsy specimens obtained before neoadjuvant therapy and in the surgical specimens obtained after neoadjuvant therapy according to the grading system we devised are significant histological outcome predictor for invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) patients who received neoadjuvant therapy. The subjects of this study were the 318 consecutive IDC patients who had received neoadjuvant therapy in our institution. The lymph vessel tumor embolus grades in the biopsy specimens and in the surgical specimens were significantly associated with the increases in mean number of nodal metastases. Multivariate analyses with well-known prognostic factors and p53 expression in tumor-stromal fibroblasts clearly showed that the lymph vessel tumor embolus grade based on the biopsy specimens and based on the surgical specimens significantly increased the hazard rates for tumor recurrence and tumor-related death in all the IDC patients as a whole, in the IDC patients who did not have nodal metastasis, and in the IDC patients who had nodal metastasis, and the outcome-predictive power of the lymph vessel tumor embolus grades based on the surgical specimens was superior to that of the lymph vessel tumor embolus grades based on the biopsy specimens. The grades in the grading system for lymph vessel tumor emboli were significantly associated with nodal metastasis, and the histological grading system is an excellent system for accurately predicting the outcome of patients with IDC of the breast who have received neoadjuvant therapy.
    Modern Pathology 04/2010; 23(4):581-92. · 4.79 Impact Factor
  • Article: Metaplastic carcinoma of the breast.
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    ABSTRACT: The purposes of this study were to investigate whether the biological characteristics or outcomes of patients with metaplastic carcinoma, invasive ductal carcinoma, or invasive lobular carcinoma of the breast differ; to determine whether the metaplastic carcinoma subtypes have similar malignant potentials; and to identify accurate predictors of outcome in patients with metaplastic carcinoma. The subject comprised 6137 invasive ductal carcinoma patients, 301 invasive lobular carcinoma patients, and 46 metaplastic carcinoma patients of the breast. The metaplastic carcinomas were classified according to the World Health Organization classification. Multivariate analyses clearly demonstrated that the metaplastic carcinoma patients had a significantly poorer outcome than the invasive ductal carcinoma patients or the invasive lobular carcinoma patients independent of the nodal status or age not exceeding 39 years, whereas patients with triple-negative metaplastic carcinomas or triple-negative invasive lobular carcinomas had a poorer outcome than those with triple-negative invasive ductal carcinomas. Although no significant differences in clinical outcome were observed among the metaplastic carcinoma subtypes in multivariate analyses, an age not exceeding 39 years, the presence of skin invasion, and the presence of a squamous cell carcinoma component in nodal tumors were significant outcome predictors for metaplastic carcinoma patients. In conclusion, the results of this study clearly demonstrated that metaplastic carcinoma is more aggressive than invasive ductal carcinoma or invasive lobular carcinoma. Although the metaplastic carcinoma subtypes had no prognostic significance, an age not exceeding 39 years, the presence of skin invasion, and the presence of a squamous cell carcinoma component in nodal tumors were significant predictors of outcome among metaplastic carcinoma patients.
    Human pathology 03/2010; 41(7):960-70. · 3.03 Impact Factor

Institutions

  • 2002–2012
    • National Cancer Center
      • Center for Cancer Control and Information Services
      Tokyo, Tokyo-to, Japan
  • 2011
    • Showa University
      Shinagawa-ku, Japan
  • 2008–2009
    • Okayama University
      • • Department of Breast and Endocrine Surgery
      • • Department of Cancer and Thoracic Surgery
      Okayama-shi, Okayama-ken, Japan
    • Saitama Cancer Center
      Saitama, Saitama-ken, Japan