title: The importance of DNA flow cytometry in node-negative breast cancer.
abstract: DNA flow cytometric analysis and conventional clinical factors were compared with disease outcome in 257 patients with node-negative infiltrating ductal carcinoma who had been treated between 1976 and 1983. Median follow-up was 80 months; none of the patients received adjuvant therapy. The relative prognostic importance of clinical variables, ploidy, and S-phase fraction was analyzed by Cox multivariate analysis. Ploidy was analyzable for 198 tumors and did not predict survival. Nuclear grade predicted disease-free survival for all patients. For 71 patients with diploid tumors, only high S-phase had a statistically significant association with relapse. For 127 patients with aneuploid tumors, tumor diameter predicted both disease-free survival and cancer death; histologic grade was also significant for predicting disease-free survival. In conclusion, flow cytometric determination of ploidy and S-phase fraction can provide valuable predictive information in node-negative breast cancer in addition to conventional variables.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL.
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Winchester
authors.forename: R B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Duda
authors.forename: C Z
authors.initials: CZ
authors.lastname: August
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Goldschmidt
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Wruck
authors.forename: A W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Rademaker
authors.forename: D P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Winchester
authors.forename: D E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Merkel
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology; D002285:Carcinoma, Intraductal, Noninfiltrating / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology; D004247:DNA / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000401:mortality; D011003:Ploidies; D011379:Prognosis; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen / Q000032:analysis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016019:Survival Analysis
chemical_list: D011960:Receptors, Estrogen; D004247:DNA