[Clinicopathologic significance of CD105 mRNA expression in human breast carcinoma].

Objective: To study endoglin (CD105) gene expression in breast cancer and its clinicopathologic significance.
Methods: In 40 patients with breast cancers, CD105 mRNA was detected at center and periphery of tumor and at nearby normal tissue by RT-PCR.
Results: The difference in CD105 mRNA expressions between cancer and normal breast tissue was significant (t = 12.08, P < 0.05), and the expression was significantly higher at the tumor periphery than at the tumor center (t = 7.52, P < 0.05). CD105 over-expression was related to lymph node metastases (t = 2.71, P < 0.05), but not to age, tumor size, pathologic grade or pathologic type (P > 0.05).
Conclusion: CD105 over-expression may play a crucial role in the progression of breast cancer and lymph node metastasis.