title: Biological characterisation of primary and metachronous lesions in breast cancer patients.
abstract: Proliferative activity, evaluated as [3H]thymidine labelling index ([3H]dT LI), and hormone receptors were determined on 97 primary breast cancers and on metachronous lesions from the same patient. Overall, the [3H]dT LI of metachronous lesions was significantly higher than that of the primary tumour (P = 0.003). Hormone receptor profiles of the two lesions were similar in about 75% of the cases; disagreements were mainly due to a disappearance of hormone receptors in metachronous lesions. In contralateral tumours, [3H]dT LI and hormone receptors were unrelated to those of the relative primary lesion. In this series of relapsing patients, [3H]dT LI was unrelated to hormone receptor status in the primary tumour, but it was higher in the metachronous lesions from patients with hormone receptor-negative primary tumours. For patients given no systemic therapy between surgery and relapse, the time to develop local-regional recurrences or contralateral tumours was inversely related to the [3H]dT LI of the metachronous lesions.
authors.affiliation: Oncologia Chirurgica C, Istituto Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori, Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Silvestrini
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Valentinis
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Daidone
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Di Fronzo
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Coradini
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Salvadori
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry / Q000473:pathology*; D002455:Cell Division; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008938:Mitosis; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000473:pathology; D011379:Prognosis; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen / Q000032:analysis*; D011980:Receptors, Progesterone / Q000032:analysis*; D013936:Thymidine / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D011960:Receptors, Estrogen; D011980:Receptors, Progesterone; D013936:Thymidine