Reliability of Cyclin A Assessment in Breast Cancer
Author Information
Author(s): Aaltonen K, Ahlin C, Amini R-M, Salonen L, Fjällskog M-L, Heikkilä P, Nevanlinna H, Blomqvist C
Primary Institution: Helsinki University Central Hospital
Hypothesis
The study aims to evaluate the representativeness of tissue microarray (TMA) compared to traditional histological slides in assessing cyclin A expression in breast cancer.
Conclusion
The study suggests that TMA technique is reliable for studying the histological correlations and prognostic significance of cyclin A in breast cancer.
Supporting Evidence
- Cyclin A overexpression was significantly associated with poor metastasis-free survival.
- The agreement of TMA and large section results was good with kappa values ranging from 0.62 to 0.75.
- The reproducibility of the two readers’ results was good or very good, with kappa values between 0.71 and 0.87.
Takeaway
Researchers looked at breast cancer samples to see if a new method called tissue microarray could give similar results to the old method. They found that it works well.
Methodology
The study analyzed cyclin A expression in 200 breast cancer tumors using both TMA and traditional large sections, with results evaluated by two independent readers.
Potential Biases
Potential bias may arise from the subjective scoring of cyclin A expression by independent readers.
Limitations
The study had a relatively small sample size and focused on a specific time frame for tumor diagnosis.
Participant Demographics
Patients treated in Helsinki University Central Hospital between 1997 and 1998.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.001
Statistical Significance
p<0.001
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Want to read the original?
Access the complete publication on the publisher's website