Polyamines in breast cancer

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Abstract
A meeting1 was held of the Surgical Research Society with Professor R. Shields in the Chair. The meeting was held at the Imperial College of Science and Technology, South Kensington, London on 5 and 6 January 1984. Seventy-eight papers were presented to the Society, and there were two surgical workshops on ‘Lasers in Surgery’ and ‘Computers for Surgical Audit’ prior to the meeting. The winner of the Patey Prize was awarded to T.W.J. Lennard, for his paper entitled ‘The Cholecystokinin provocation test: a prospective double-blind placebo controlled trial in patients with acalculous biliary pain’. Polyamine levels (putrescine, spermidine and spermine) in breast cancers (n = 54) were measured as a potential guide to prognosis. Values (expressed as nmol per 100 mg tumour) ranged from: 0·9 to 4·5 for putrescine, 4·2 to 29·8 for spermidine and 5·6 to 39·7 for spermine concentration. Increased intracellular polyamine levels were positively correlated with factors known adversely to affect survival after mastectomy, namely histological grade III and oestrogen-receptor negative status. Advanced T4 tumours and medullary-type carcinomas also contained high polyamine levels. Tumour size and node status did not affect polyamine levels in primary tumours. Tumours that recurred within 2 years of mastectomy had significantly higher levels of spermidine and spermine than those that did not. Breast cancer polyamine levels are a biological marker of tumour aggressiveness and can be used as a prognostic indicator of early tumour recurrence that is independent of node status.
Funding Information
  • Scottish Home and Health Department