title: Differences in regional immunoreactivity during the premenopausal and postmenopausal periods in patients with carcinoma of the breast.
abstract: Quantitative morphologic assessment of immunoreactivity in regional lymph nodes in 82 patients with carcinoma of the breast without axillary node metastasis showed a significant decrease of the hyperplasia index with age. These differences were particularly noteworthy when premenopausal and postmenopausal women were compared, p less than 0.05. This finding might be an indication of a direct link between ovarian hormones, probably progesterone, and immunity, and it would challenge the concept of oophorectomy performed as a prophylactic measure in patients in the premenopausal period.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000937:Antigen-Antibody Reactions; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology*; D002979:Climacteric; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000276:immunology*; D008593:Menopause; D008875:Middle Aged