title: Prognostic value of steroid receptors after long-term follow-up of 2257 operable breast cancers.
abstract: The prognostic value of oestrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) was estimated through a multicentric study of 2257 operable breast cancer patients followed up for a median of 8.5 years. None of the patients had received adjuvant therapy. The series included 33.3% stage I patients, 57.1% stage II, 5.7% stage IIIa and 2.4% stage IIIb. At the end point of the study 589 metastases and 537 deaths from cancer were recorded. Receptor measurements were performed by radiolgand assay according to a uniform protocol. A total of 68.8% of the tumous were ER positive and 54.0% PR positive ( > or = 10 fmol mg-1 cytosol protein). In univariate analysis, ER and PR status (positive/negative) were of prognostic value (P < 0.001) for the disease-free interval (DFI), the metastases-free interval (MFI) and the overall survival (OS). The OS of the patients after a first metastasis was also significantly different between ER-positive and -negative tumours (P < 0.001). In multivariate analysis (Cox proportional hazard model, 1665 patients), only the ER status showed a significant difference (P < 0.01) between positive and negative groups regarding the DFI, MFI and OS. By using Cox non-proportional, time-dependent models, we show that the predictive value of ER status of the primary tumour decreases by approximately 20% per year, losing its significance after 8 years of follow-up. Overall, when compared with TNM and histological grading, ER and PR status have a low prognostic value, their major interest remaining solely in the domain of therapeutic decision.
authors.affiliation: Groupe de Biopathologie Tissulaire et Moléculaire, Fédération des Centres de Lutte contre le Cancer, Paris, France.
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Pichon
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Broet
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Magdelenat
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Delarue
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Spyratos
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Basuyau
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Saez
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rallet
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Courriere
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Millon
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Asselain
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D011379:Prognosis; D011869:Radioligand Assay; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen / Q000032:analysis*; D011980:Receptors, Progesterone / Q000032:analysis*; D012307:Risk Factors; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D011960:Receptors, Estrogen; D011980:Receptors, Progesterone