Thymidine Kinase 1 Upregulation Is an Early Event in Breast Tumor Formation

Prognostic markers play an important role in our understanding of tumors and how to treat them. Thymidine kinase 1 (TK1), a proliferation marker involved in DNA repair, has been shown to have independent prognostic potential. This prognostic potential includes the novel concept that upregulation of serum TK1 levels is an early event in cancer development. This same effect may also be seen in tumor tissue. In order to demonstrate that TK1 upregulation is an early event in tumor tissue formation, tissue arrays were obtained and stained for TK1 by immunohistochemistry. Using a progressive breast tissue array, precancerous tissue including breast adenosis, simple hyperplasia, and atypical hyperplasia stained positive for TK1 expression. Different stages of breast carcinoma tissue also stained positive for TK1 including nonspecific infiltrating duct, infiltrating lobular, and infiltrating duct with lymph node metastasis carcinomas. This indicates that TK1 upregulation is an early event in breast carcinoma development, and may be useful in identifying precancerous tissue. Further work is needed to better understand the differences seen between TK1 positive and negative tissues.