Ps. Stonelake et al., STEROID-RECEPTORS, PS2 AND CATHEPSIN-D IN EARLY CLINICALLY NODE-NEGATIVE BREAST-CANCER, European journal of cancer, 30A(1), 1994, pp. 5-11
Four oestrogen-regulated proteins of reported prognostic value, oestro
gen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), pS2 and cathepsin D (Ca
t IF), have been quantified by immunoassays, and the latter studied by
immunohistochemistry (IHC) in primary tumours from clinically node-ne
gative early breast cancer patients, entered into a trial of breast co
nservation therapy in which all the patients received adjuvant tamoxif
en. ER, PR and pS2 significantly co-correlated but none correlated wit
h Cat D. ER, PR and pS2, but not Cat D, were significantly associated
with tumour size and grade, although Cat D tended to show an inverse r
elationship with the latter. Cat D (radioimmunoassay) in pmol/mg signi
ficantly correlated with the IHC score for Cat D in carcinoma cells as
well as the number of Cat IF-expressing macrophages. At a median foll
ow-up of only 16 months, recurrence was significantly more common in p
atients with tumours having negative status for ER, PR and pS2 but was
not associated with Cat D status.