Pl. Alo et al., EXPRESSION OF FATTY-ACID SYNTHASE (FAS) AS A PREDICTOR OF RECURRENCE IN STAGE-I BREAST-CARCINOMA PATIENTS, Cancer, 77(3), 1996, pp. 474-482
BACKGROUND. Fatty acid synthase (FAS) is a molecule found in tumor cel
ls from breast carcinomas of patients whose prognosis is very poor. Re
cently, this molecule has been identified as the key enzyme in fatty a
cid biosynthesis. This study was done to test the strength of FAS as a
prognostic indicator for disease free survival (DFS) and overall surv
ival (OS). METHODS. Clinical records, histologic features, immunohisto
chemical expression of cathepsin D and c-erbB-2, and estrogen and prog
esterone receptor status of 110 Stage I breast carcinoma patients were
all associated with FAS by a chi-square test. The patterns of DFS and
OS were estimated over a ten-year follow-up period using the Kaplan-M
eier method. Univariate and multivariate analysis were evaluated using
a log logistic regression model. Multivariate regression analysis was
based on the Cox proportional hazard model. To detect FAS, cathepsin
D and c-erbB-2 expression as well as estrogen and progesterone recepto
r status, we used the unlabeled immunoperoxidase technique on formalin
fixed, paraffin embedded tissue. RESULTS. FAS was significantly assoc
iated with a higher risk of recurrence because it predicted both DFS (
P = 0.0001) and OS (P = 0.003) when evaluated as a continuous variable
and DFS (P = 0.0001) when evaluated with other prognostic markers. Pe
ritumoral lymphatic vessel invasion was the other most significant ind
ependent predictor for DFS (P = 0.001) and OS (P = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS
. FAS is a reliable prognostic marker to predict DFS and OS in patient
s with early breast cancer. (C) 1996 American Cancer Society.