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Medical AI Inquiry: You was designed to assist in medical decision-making based on the provided user questions. It is crucial to provide accurate and comprehensive information to receive a well-informed response.  Labels: OBJECTIVE, METHODS, RESULTS. Meshes: Adult, Breast Neoplasms, Combined Modality Therapy, Cyclooxygenase 2, Female, Humans, Isoenzymes, Mastectomy, Membrane Proteins, Neoplasm Proteins, Prognosis, Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases, Statistics as Topic, Survival Rate.
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Does cyclooxygenase-2 expression correlate with diminished survival in invasive breast cancer treated with mastectomy and radiotherapy? Context: To evaluate the relationship between cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression and pathologic features and outcome in invasive breast cancer. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tumor specimens from 23 women with invasive breast cancer were stained for COX-2 expression. All women underwent mastectomy and locoregional radiotherapy. The distribution (percentage of positive staining cells) and intensity of COX-2 expression within the tumor cells were compared with clinical factors, including stage, grade, lymph node involvement, and outcome. For invasive breast cancer, the distribution and intensity of COX-2 tumor expression correlated significantly with diminished overall survival. The 5-year overall survival rate was 100% for patients with <75% of breast cancer cells expressing COX-2 compared with 49% for patients with > or =75% (p = 0.044). The 5-year overall survival rate was 100% for patients with COX-2 intensity <80 compared with 60% for patients with COX-2 intensity > or =80 (p = 0.018). The percentage and intensity of COX-2 expression also correlated significantly with disease-free survival. The percentage of cells expressing COX-2 was significantly greater in women <40 years old than in women > or =40 years old (81% vs. 59%, respectively, p = 0.04).
assistant
Both the distribution and the intensity of COX-2 expression correlated significantly with disease-free and overall survival in patients with invasive breast cancer. Younger patients with invasive breast cancer may have a greater percentage of COX-2 expression in their tumors. Final Decision: yes