EpCAM and p53 Expressions in Infiltrating Duct Carcinoma of the Breast and Their Association With the Clinicopathological Prognostic Paremeters

Breast cancer represents the most frequently diagnosed cancer in women. It represents the 5th leading cause of cancer mortality all over the world.

In Egypt, breast cancer represents the 2nd most diagnosed cancer among all population. But among Egyptian females it represents the 1st diagnosed cancer representing 32.4%.

The main cause of death in breast cancer patients is tumor metastasis. Although only 5-10% of recently diagnosed breast cancer cases show metastasis to distant sites, but still there is a high risk for metastasis in patients with localized primary tumor following successful surgical management.

Epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) is a cell adhesion molecule. It modifies cadherin mediated cell adhesion and it induces epithelial cell migration and proliferation. Some authors elucidate that EpCAM is involved in metastasis.

P53 is a known tumor suppressor gene involved in the control of cell cycle, DNA repair and apoptosis. It's one of the most mutated genes in cancer including breast cancer. Mutant p53 has a big role in tumor progression.