Proliferating cell muclear antigen(PCNA) has been thought to be a marker of cell proliferation, which appears in the cell nuclei during the late S-phase and G2-phase of the cell cycle. PCNA can be detected immunohistochemically using monoclonal
antibodies, and expression of PCNA has been shown to be of prognostic value in certain types of cancer. The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic value of the PCNA immunoreactivity in primary breast carcinoma. PCNA was detected in
formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue from 54 primary breast carcinomas by immunohistochemical method using monoclonal antibodies(PC10). PCNA immunoreactivity was estiated with a cut-off value of 50% of positively stained tumor cells,
discriminating
between high(≥50%) and low(<50%) PCNA grade. PCNA immunorereactivity was correlated was correlated with various clinicicopathological factors and 5-year survival rate.
PCNA was overexpressed (high grade) in 59.3%(32/54). 5-year survival rate of patients with high PCNA grade was 73.7%, and that of patients with low PCNA grade was 71.3%(p>0.1). In every stages and every nodal status, PCNA grades were not rerated
to
survival rate. The PCNA grade did not correlated with stage and axillary node status. However, a high PCNA grade tended to be associated with a poor histological grade(p=0.02). This study failed to show any correlation between the PCNA grade and
tumor
size, axillary node status and patients' survival. It appears that PCNA immunostaining of paraffin-embedded section is of little prognostic value in patients with primary breast carcinoma.
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