Histological grade in breast cancer: association with clinical and biological features in a series of 229 patients

In order to study the association of histological grade (HC) with specific clinical and biological parameters which may influence the clinical behavio r of infiltrating ductal carcinomas of the breast (IDC), we analyzed in 229 tissue samples the cytosolic concentrations of estrogen receptor (ER), pro gesterone receptor (PR), pS2, cathepsin D, hyaluronic acid (HA) and tissue- type plasminogen activator (t-PA), as well as those of the erbB2 oncoprotei n, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), HA, CD44v5 and CD44v6 in the ce ll membrane fraction. Likewise, we considered size, ploidy, S-phase fractio n and axillary node involvement as variables of the study. The transition f rom HG1 to HG2 and from HG2 to HG3 was accompanied by a number of common fe atures: global increase in size, greater number of tumors >2.0 cm, decrease in membrane hyaluronic acid concentrations, increased cell proliferation ( S-phase >7%) and greater aneuploidy. Other events observed during the trans ition from HG2 to HG3 were a decrease in ER, PR, t-PA and cytosolic hyaluro nic acid. These results led us to consider that HG is associated with certa in clinical-biological changes that may help explain its value as a prognos tic factor in breast carcinomas.