The aims of this study were: (a) to assess p53 nuclear accumulation and ERα expression in pure ductal hyperplasia and ductal hyperplasia co-existing with DCIS or IDC; (b) to explore if there is a differential

expression pattern of ERα and p53 nuclear accumulation between pure ductal hyperplasia and ductal hyperplasia co-existing with DCIS or IDC. Materials and methods Patients and tissues: 129 cases of pure ductal hyperplasia of breast, 86 cases of ductal hyperplasia buy Navitoclax co-existing with DCIS (41 cases) and IDC (45 cases) were collected from surgical samples of women at the First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University between 2005 and 2010. None of patients undergo chemotherapy, radiotherapy or adjuvant treatment before operation. Patients’ ages ranged from 21 to 82, with an average age of 43.8 years old. Each case was reviewed independently by 2 pathologists (Chui-feng Fan and

Min Song) with a subspecialty focus in breast pathology, and only those cases that both pathologists finally reached the unanimous diagnosis were used. In case of insufficient or unattainable material, original tissue blocks were reprocessed and new slides were created. The pathological types of breast ductal hyperplasia lesions have been classified according to WHO’s criteria which published by Tavassoli FA Salubrinal concentration et al [22]. All sections were reviewed for a comprehensive list of pathologic features, including margins (close margins were defined as tissue-free margins < 1 mm), the presence of

concomitant UDH, ADH, DCIS and IDC. The pathological types of breast ductal hyperplasia lesions were summarized in Table 1. The cases of breast ductal hyperplasia lesions include 79 cases of UDH and 136 cases of ADH (16 cases of ductal intraepithelial neoplasia 1A (DIN 1A) and 120 cases of ductal intraepithelial neoplasia 1B (DIN 1B)). The study was approved by the regional ethics isometheptene committee at China Medical University. Table 1 Breast ductal hyperplasia lesions of the different pathological types   Pure type With DCIS With IDC Total UDH 52 12 15 79 ADH 77 29 30 136    DIN 1A 1 9 6 16    DIN 1B 76 20 24 120 Total 129 41 45 215 Immunohistochemistry: Formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded specimens were cut into 4 μm-thick sections, which were subsequently de-waxed and hydrated. Immunohistochemical staining for ERα (sc-542, Santa Cruz, 1:200) and p53 (sc-47698, Santa Cruz, 1:100) were performed using UltraSensitive™ S-P kits (Maixin-Bio; P.R. China) according to the manufacturer’s instructions and using the reagent supplied within the kit. For the negative control, phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) was used in place of the primary antibodies. We also adopted the German semi-quantitative Androgen Receptor antagonist scoring system in considering the staining intensity and area extent, which has been widely accepted and used in previous studies [23–25].