[Relationships among the expression of thymidylate synthase, thymidine phosphorylase, and dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase and the prognosis of breast cancer].

OBJECTIVE:To investigate the relationships among the expression of thymidylate synthase (TS), thymidine phosphorylase (TP), and dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) and the prognosis of breast cancer. METHODS:Immunochemistry (ABC method) was used to detect the expression of TS, TP, and DPD in the samples of breast cancer resected during operation from 28 female patients. The microvessel density (MVD) in the cancer tissue was measured by immunochemistry (LSAB method). RESULTS:The TS positive rate was 30.26% and the TP positive rate was 21%, and the DPD positive rate was 30.03%. The expression levels of TS and TP were both correlated with the tumor size, lymph node status, histological grading of tumor, and microvessel count (MVC) (all P < 0.01), and was not correlated with age, status of estrogen receptors, status of prasterone receptors (all P > 0.05). The DPD expression was not correlated with the age, tumor size, lymph node status, histological grading of tumor, status of estrogen receptors, status of prasterone receptors, and MVC. The ten-year disease-free survival rate of the TS-positive patients was 0, significantly lower than that of the TS-negative patients (25%, P < 0.01). The ten-year overall survival rate of the TS-positive patients was 3.9%, significantly lower than that of the TS-negative patients (58.8%, P < 0.01). The ten-year disease-free survival rate of the TP-positive patients was 0, significantly lower than the TP-negative patients (25.4%, P < 0.01). The ten-year overall survival rate of the TP-positive patients was 0.9%, significantly lower than that of the TP-negative patients (61.8%, P < 0.01). The ten-year disease-free survival rate and ten-year overall survival rate of the DPD positive patients were not significantly different from those of the DPD negative patients (both P > 0.05). MCV and TS expression were strong protective factors of disease-free survival rate and overall survival rate. CONCLUSION:The levels of TS and TP are both prognostic indicis of breast cancer.