MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 226 invasive breast carcinoma cases were selected and assembled into tissue microarrays (TMAs). The stromal expression of CD10 was immunohistochemically analysed.
RESULTS: Stromal CD10 was positive in 67 (29.6%) cases of invasive breast carcinoma. The frequency of positive stromal staining was significantly higher in the cases with ER-negative (P=0.000). CD10 stromal negativity was significantly higher in luminaltype cases (P=0.001). However, there was no correlation between stromal CD10 expression with tumour grade, stage, PR and HER2 status.
CONCLUSION: Positive CD10 stromal expression correlates with ER-negative invasive breast carcinomas, while negative CD10 stromal expression correlates with luminal type invasive breast carcinomas. This demonstrates that stromal CD10 expression within the TME constitutes a potential prognostic marker and therapeutic target. Future studies are necessary to evaluate other stromal markers within the TME immunohistochemically as well as its molecular basis in order to confirm the definite role of stromal CD10.