Quantitative analysis and comparison of mast cells in breast carcinomas and axillary lymph nodes

Introduction: The incidence of breast cancer is increasing throughout the world and it has become the major health problem. Many risk factors and prognostic factors of breast cancer have been identified. Inflammatory cells in the tumor stroma have gained increasing interest on recent time. Aims and Objectives: The study was undertaken to identify the prognostic impact of presence of stromal mast cells in breast carcinomas. Materials and Methods: It was an institution-based descriptive study with cross-sectional design. Total 44 specimens of postoperative breast tissue and dissected axillary lymph nodes of carcinoma breast were taken as sample. After processing of tissue, the slide was stained with hematoxylin and eosin stain and subsequently with toluidine blue stain. Counting of mast cells was done in toluidine blue stain. Results and Analysis: Among 44 cases, the mean age of patients was 45.32 years and infiltrating ductal carcinoma-no special type was the most common type. According to histological grading, Grade III was most common. The mean mast cell count in breast lump was 5.76/high-power field (HPF). The mean mast cell count in axillary lymph node was 11.20/HPF among 27 cases. It was observed that when the tumor grade increases, the number of must cell decreased per HPF. Conclusion: This study indicated that the number of mast cells in breast cancer was inversely correlated with the grade of this tumor.