Genetic Abnormalities in Breast Cancer Tumors and Relationships to Environmental and Genetic Risk Factors Using Twins.

Abstract

Activities included: (1) acquisition of archived tissue blocks on breast cancer concordant twin pairs (206 MZ and 130 DZ) and discordant pairs (548 MZ); (2) immunohistochemistry to detect the level of expression of biomarkers (p53, HER-2/neu, ER, and PR) in the tumor tissue; (3) DNA sequencing of the p53 gene; (4) FISH to detect amplification of HER-2/neu; and (5) analysis of the association of environmental and genetic factors with the development of these markers. Blocks from 330 twins (206 in concordant pairs and 124 in discordant pairs) have been received. Based on 41 concordant pairs, intra-pair analyses showed that ER was the biomarker most likely to be identical within the pair (Kappa = 0.42) and HER-2/neu was the least likely (Kappa = 0.03). The low agreement suggests that environmental factors are likely to play a role in the development of some of these tumor markers. DNA sequencing of the p53 gene has been completed for 50 cases with 25 having at least one mutation. FISH has been completed on 100 cases. During the next year (for which we have a no cost extension), collection of tissue blocks, immunohistochemistry, sequencing of the p53 gene and FISH to determine HER-2/neu gene amplification will be completed. Additional epidemiologic analyses will be completed to further investigate the relationship of risk factors to tumor marker development.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 1998
Accession Number
ADA366678

Entities

People

  • Thomas M. Mack

Organizations

  • University of California, Los Angeles

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acquisition
  • Amplification
  • Biological Markers
  • Breast Cancer
  • Carcinoma
  • Cells
  • Chemistry
  • Diseases And Disorders
  • Dna Sequence Analysis
  • Genes
  • Genetics
  • Health Services
  • Immunohistochemistry
  • Neoplasms
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Proteins
  • Risk Factors

Fields of Study

  • Biology

Readers

  • Brain and Cognitive Science; Experimental Psychology; Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Breast cancer cell signaling and growth regulation.
  • Molecular Genetics

Technology Areas

  • Biotechnology