ROLE OF WT1 AS A PROGNOSTIC MARKER IN BREAST CARCINOMA”

Background: Several studies have been done to explore the clinical presentation and management of breast cancer. However, large unexplored area lies in the histopathological diagnosis of breast cancer, which determines both the choice of therapeutic management and also aids in determining the prognosis. This study was carried out to evaluate the role of WT1 expression in breast cancer. Methods: This retrospective study was carried out among 100 parafn blocks of histologically proven invasive breast cancer specimens. WT1 immunohistochemical staining was done on all the hundred cases, while ER, PR and HER-2/NEU status was studied in 93 cases.WT1 expression was assessed in breast carcinoma and its expression was correlated with known histopathological prognostic factors. Results:The mean age of the participants was 56 years. Invasive carcinoma- No special type (NST) was the most common histological type in 84% cases. The maximum number of cases belonged to T2 category (65 %). ER was positive in 53 cases, PR was positive in 40 cases, while HER2/neu was positive in 30 cases. WT1 expression was positive in 30% of the slides and was identied in the nuclei of tumor cells and the expression varied between the tumors.WT1 expression was found to be higher in patients with tumor size above 5cm (61.9%) and positive lymph nodal status. (p value <0.005). Conclusion: Evaluating WT1 expression with more molecular markers prospectively with a longer duration of follow up and assessing the survival rates will provide a better insight and validate the ndings of this study.