CD10 expression in stromal component of invasive breast carcinoma: A potential prognostic determinant

CD10 is a cell surface metalloproteinase which inactivates various biologically active peptides. Earlier studies have suggested CD10 expression in the stroma of various carcinomas to be associated with more aggressive behavior of the tumor. The aim of this study was to assess CD10 expression in stromal component of invasive breast carcinoma and its relationship with well-known clinicopathologic parameters. METHODS: This study included 49 formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissue specimens of invasive breast carcinoma from the pathology archive of a referral hospital. CD10 expression was detected by immunohistochemistry and scored based on the staining intensity and percentage of the stained cells. Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests, along with Spearman's correlation coefficients were used to determine the relationship between CD10 expression and clinicopathologic parameters. RESULTS: No association was found between stromal CD10 expression and age, carcinoma subtype, and HER2/neu status. A significant positive correlation was seen between stromal CD10 expression and tumor size (p = 0.01), axillary lymph node status (p = 0.02), and tumor grade (p = 0.004). Although negative correlations were detected between stromal CD10 expression and estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor status, these correlations were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Tumor grade is a major prognostic indicator of breast carcinoma. Tumor size and nodal status on the other hand, are important determinants of tumor stage. Therefore, our findings concerning the positive correlations between stromal CD10 expression and tumor grade, tumor size, and nodal status suggest a strong effect of stromal CD10 expression on aggressive behavior of breast carcinoma and introduce this marker as a potential prognostic determinant in breast cancer.