BREAST-CANCER - PROGNOSTIC-SIGNIFICANCE OF C-ERB-B2 AND INT-2 AMPLIFICATION COMPARED WITH DNA-PLOIDY, S-PHASE FRACTION, AND CONVENTIONAL CLINICOPATHOLOGICAL FEATURES

The prognostic value of oncogene amplification and conventional clinic opathological features was determined in consecutive breast cancers de tected during 5 months in 1975-1976 in 4 Swedish counties. Material wa s collected from 162 of the 179 patients and tumor size, nodal status, FSH, estrogen/progesterone receptor status, DNA ploidy and S-phase fr action determined. Tissues remaining from 80 patients were stored froz en until 1991, when amplification of the oncogenes c-erb-B2 and int-2 was determined. We show that c-erb-B2 amplification (but not int-2 amp lification) and positive axillary nodal status show prognostic signifi cance for both survival and relapse-free survival in univariate and mu ltivariate analysis. The other examined factors showed no significance .