Aromatase and steroid sulfatase mRNA expression in fine needle aspirates from benign and malignant breast disorders

The fine needle aspiration (FNA) test is a convenient and tolerable technique with minimal invasion that is accepted by most women.Local estrogen synthesis depends mainly on the aromatase and steroid sulfatase pathways that are believed to play important roles in breast carcinogenesis.However,little is known about the level of aromatase and steroid sulfatase mRNA expression in FNA samples which contain only small amounts of tissue.The nested Q-PCR assay has been proven to be a highly sensitive and specific method to assess the aromatase expression of breast tissue.In this study,aromatase and steroid sulfatase mRNA expression in 74 patients with benign or malignant disorders was evaluated and compared using nested Q-PCR and non-nested Q-PCR assays.The expression levels were analyzed and correlated with clinical parameters.No difference in the aromatase expression levels between nested and non-nested Q-PCR was noticed.Age and aromatase mRNA expression level were two independent risk factors for breast cancer (P=0.04 and P=0.00,respectively),while menopausal status and steroid sulfatase mRNA expression levels were not associated with breast cancer.This study showed that both nested and non-nested Q-PCR assays were effective methods for research using FNA breast samples.