title: int-2 oncogene amplification and prognosis in node-negative breast carcinoma.
abstract: The role of int-2 oncogene amplification on the prognosis of breast cancer patients was investigated in 128 patients with node-negative primary breast cancers given first-line local-regional treatments until relapse and with a median follow-up of 65 months. Tumours had been previously characterised for oestrogen (ER) and progesterone receptor (PgR) status and proliferative activity (3H-thymidine labelling index). Amplification of the int-2 oncogene occurred in 18% of cases and was significantly related to the presence of hormone receptors and to menopausal status or age, but not to proliferative status. Patients with tumours exhibiting int-2 amplification had a lower probability of disease-free survival than patients with non-amplified tumours and frequently developed local-regional recurrence. Disease-free survival analysis, adjusted for the prognostic contribution provided by tumour size, steroid receptors and proliferative rate, indicated that the association between int-2 amplification and risk of relapse was maintained and remained constant even in the presence of the other co-variates. Interestingly, int-2 amplification was a further prognostic discriminant within subsets of patients with a putatively good (i.e., tumour size <20 mm, ER+ and PgR+) or poor prognosis (i.e., high labelling index). Our exploratory study suggests that within node-negative patients, int-2 amplification could be a valuable and independent prognosticator, useful to identify patients at high risk of local-regional recurrence.
authors.affiliation: Istituto Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fioravanti
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Cappelletti
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Coradini
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Miodini
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Borsani
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Daidone
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Di Fronzo
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm / Q000235:genetics; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D051518:Fibroblast Growth Factor 3; D005346:Fibroblast Growth Factors / Q000235:genetics*; D005784:Gene Amplification; D006801:Humans; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000473:pathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D004273:DNA, Neoplasm; C496444:FGF3 protein, human; D051518:Fibroblast Growth Factor 3; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen; D005346:Fibroblast Growth Factors