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. 2006 Dec 18;95(12):1683-8.
doi: 10.1038/sj.bjc.6603491.

The relationship of the neo-angiogenic marker, endoglin, with response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer

M J Beresford  1 , A L Harris, M Ah-See, F Daley, A R Padhani, A Makris
Affiliations

The relationship of the neo-angiogenic marker, endoglin, with response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer

M J Beresford et al. Br J Cancer. .

Abstract

Endoglin (CD105) is upregulated in endothelial cells of tissues undergoing neovascularisation. A greater number of CD105-positive vessels predicts poor survival in breast cancer. We examine whether CD105 expression predicts response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Fifty-seven women (median age 50 years, range 29-70) received neoadjuvant chemotherapy for operable breast cancer. Immunohistochemical staining using monoclonal antibodies to CD105 and CD34 was performed on pretreatment biopsies and post-treatment surgical specimens. Individual microvessels were counted in 10 random fields at x 200 magnification. Median counts were correlated with clinical and pathological response using the Mann-Whitney U-test. Forty-five out of fifty-seven patients (79%) responded clinically, 22 (39%) responded pathologically. On pretreatment biopsies, clinical responders had significantly lower median CD105-positive vessel counts than nonresponders (median counts 5 and 9.3/high-power field (hpf), median difference=4.0/hpf, 95% CI 0.5-8.0/hpf, P=0.02). For pathological responders and nonresponders, median counts were 4.8 and 5.5/hpf (median difference -0.5/hpf, 95% CI=-2.5-2.0/hpf, P=0.77). CD34 expression (total microvessel density) did not correlate with response. Pretreatment CD105 expression predicts for clinical response to chemotherapy, with a lower initial count being favourable. Patients with high baseline new vessel counts or increased counts after conventional therapy may benefit from additional antiangiogenic therapy.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(A) Comparison of CD105-positive vessel counts per hpf for observer 1 and observer 2 on 10 randomly chosen specimens. (B) Comparison of CD105-positive vessel counts per hpf for different sections of the same specimen for 10 randomly chosen cases.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Box and whisker plots showing the distribution of median CD105-positive vessel counts per hpf from pretreatment biopsy specimens grouped by (A) clinical response and (B) pathological response. Mann–Whitney U-test for differences in distributions (A) P=0.02, (B) P=0.77.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Box and whisker plot of the percentage change from prechemotherapy biopsy to post-chemotherapy surgical CD105-positive vessel counts, grouped by pathological response. Mann–Whitney U-test for differences in distributions P=0.11.
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