THE LECTIN-BINDING SITES FOR PEANUT AGGLUTININ IN INVASIVE BREAST DUCTAL CARCINOMAS AND THEIR METASTASIS

Peanut agglutinin (PNA) lectin-binding site patterns in primary invasi ve breast ductal not otherwise specified (NOS) carcinomas are related to aggressiveness of the tumor. The present study was designed to comp are the expression of PNA-binding sites in the primary tumor and in lo cal lymph node metastases. The expression of lectin-binding sites was studied using the avidin-biotin complex/immunoperoxidase technique and analyzed in relation to age of the patient and size of the breast can cer. Breast cancers and their metastases showed negativity or positivi ty, the latter being divided into ''apical'' and ''non-apical'' (i.e. membrane and/or cytoplasmic) depending on the main localization of sta ining in tumor cells. No con-elation was found between primary tumors and metastases as regards PNA-binding patterns, which confirms the opi nion that advanced primary tumors are polyclonal and that selected sub clones of malignant cells give rise to metastases. Furthermore, the fa ct that primary tumors with PNA non-apical expression, a feature relat ed to aggressiveness and poor differentiation, may have lymph node met astases with apical expression, suggests that this pattern, although n o longer evident in the primary tumor, is involved in the process of c ell metastasis.