Expression of Stathmin protein and its significance in breast cancer

Objective: To explore the expression of Stathmin protein in human breast cancer and evaluate the relationship between the expression of Stathmin and clinicopathological characteristics of breast cancer.Methods:The expression levels of Stathmin protein in 87 cases of breast cancer,20 cases of breast benign lesions and 20 cases normal breast tissue were investigated by immunohistochemical method.The relationships between the expression of Stathmin and patients'age,tumor size,histological grade,clinical stage and lymph node metastasis of breast cancer were analyzed.Results:The positive expression rates of Stathmin in breast cancer,breast benign lesions and normal breast tissue were 83.9%,30.0% and 25.0%,respectively,the Stathmin expression in breast cancer was significantly higher than that in breast benign lesions and normal breast tissue(P0.01).The differences of Stathmin expression in different clinical stage and lymph node metastasis had statistical significance(P0.05),the differences of Stathmin expression in different patient's age,tumor size and histological grade had no statistical significance (P0.05).Conclusions:Stathmin is overexpressed in breast cancer,which may play a certain role in its genesis and development.Stathmin can serve as a potential marker in the diagnosis and prognosis of breast cancer.