Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Recently, hepatoma-derived growth factor (HDGF) has been considered as a significantly important factor in determining the prognosis and estimating the probability of tumor cell invasions, recurrence, and lymph node metastasis in different cancers, including breast malignancies. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Immunohistochemistry (IHC) study for HDGF was performed on paraffin-embedded blocks of patients with breast carcinoma in Modarres hospital, Tehran, Iran, since 1387-1390 (74 cases); three separate pathologists read the slides after complete IHC staining. Thereafter, necessary information was recorded from patient files, and eventually, findings were analyzed by SPSS program. RESULTS: Expression of nuclear HDGF has significant statistical correlation with tumor grade according to Nottingham grading scheme; this correlation is also seen with nuclear pleomorphism of tumor cells and mitotic count. No correlation between age and tumor size with expression of HDGF is found. Lymph node metastasis is in inverse ratio to nuclear HDGF staining. CONCLUSION: Nuclear expression of HDGF in tumor cells is increased concordantly to tumor grade, which implies us to the role of this marker in determining the prognosis and choosing the most suitable treatment plan.