• F S Ferrini, M A Rossi, M M Neto, and F A Soares.
• Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
• Sao Paulo Med J. 2001 Jan 4; 119 (1): 464-6.

ContextBreast cancer is the most important neoplasm in adult women, and its worldwide incidence is growing. The tumoral stroma is very important for modulating the growth and invasion of the tumor itself. The relationship between these two components is not completely understood. Schirrous carcinoma is a variant of ductal invasive carcinoma in which the stroma is very desmoplastic, and the importance of this finding still a motive for debate in the literature.ObjectiveTo compare the desmoplastic reactions against biological markers, such as estrogen and progesterone receptors, oncoprotein c-erbB-2 and oncoprotein p53, with the objective of studying the relationship between the tumoral stroma and epithelial cancer cells.Type Of StudyRetrospective study.SettingCancer Hospital A C Camargo and Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.Sample107 adult women operated because of ductal invasive carcinoma. The cases were separated into 4 groups according to the desmoplastic reaction - less than 15 per cent, between 15-50 per cent, 51-85 per cent, and more than 85 per cent fibrosis. The grade of fibrosis was determined by picrus-sirius staining and quantified by using a microscope with a stereo-imaging grid. Immunohistochemical methods were used to determine the expression of the hormonal receptors and c-erbB-2/p53 oncoprotein.Main MeasurementsExtent of desmoplastic reaction versus expression of estrogen and progesterone receptors, oncoprotein c-erbB-2, and oncoprotein p53.ResultsThe results showed that schirrous carcinoma expresses oncoprotein p53 more frequently than other carcinomas with less extensive desmoplastic reaction. There were no differences between the grade of fibrosis and the other biological markers.ConclusionThe intense stromal reaction in invasive ductal carcinoma may modulate the expression of p53. Further investigations should be made with the aim of understanding how this expression determines the proliferative activity in schirrous carcinoma, and whether this overexpression is secondary to mutation of the p53 gene or due to modulation of other molecules of the stroma.

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