Affiliations: Faculty of Medicine, Department of Biomorphology and Biotechnologies, Division of Biology and Genetics, University of Messina, Messina, Italy | Laboratory of Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmaceutical Science, University of Magna Graecia, Catanzaro, Italy | Department of Pathology, Lamezia Terme Hospital, Lamezia Terme CZ, Italy
Note: [] Corresponding author: Antonina Sidoti, Associated Prof. Department of Biomorphology and Biotechnologies, Division of Biology and Genetics, University of Messina, Messina, Italy. Tel.: +39 090 2213372; Fax: +39 090 2934167; E-mail: antonella.sidoti@unime.it
Abstract: Background: Cyclin D1 gene (CCND1) plays pivotal roles in the development of several human cancers, including breast cancer, functioning as an oncogene. The aim of this study was to better understand the molecular dynamics of ductal carcinomas with regard to proliferation and the ageing process. Methods: 130 cases of ductal breast cancer in postmenopausal women, aged 52–96 in 3 age classes were selected. Tumoral tissues preserved in formaldehyde solution and subsequently embedded in paraffin were subjected to analysis Fluorescence in situ Hybridization (FISH), Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT- PCR) and immuno-histochemical tests. The molecular variables studied were estimated in relation to the patients' age. Results: The results obtained suggest that the increment of the levels of cyclin D1 in intra-ductal breast tumors in older woman that we have examined is significantly associated with a lower proliferation rate. Conclusion: Cyclin D1, which characterizes tumor in young women as molecular director involved in strengthening tumoral proliferation mechanisms, may be seen as a potential blocking molecular switch in corresponding tumours in old women.
Keywords: CCND1, cyclin D1, breast intra-ductal tumors, cell cycle, older women
