PROGNOSTIC VALUE OF HELIX-POMATIA IN BREAST-CANCER

Six hundred and eighty-four primary breast cancers from the Internatio nal (Ludwig) Breast Cancer Study Group (IBCSG) were studied for Helix pomatia lectin (HPA) binding. There was a weak correlation between lym ph node-positive and HPA positive (P = 0.04). In our series there was a large advantage in disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) for node-negative patients (P < 0.0001 DFS and OS). However, ther e was no such advantage for HPA-negative patients (P = 0.23 DFS and P = 0.32 OS). We conclude that in this randomised patient group HPA is o f no clinical predictive value.