Expression of c-erbB2 and p53 protein is similar in breast cancer from British and Japanese women.

In an attempt to explain the difference in outcome between British and Japanese women with breast cancer we have compared histopathological features, expression of c-erbB2 and p53 proteins and clinical outcome of 191 British (Anglo) women with 171 Japanese women treated between 1979 and 1980. The Japanese patients were significantly younger than the Anglo patients, while in premenopausal women the latter had significantly smaller tumors. The proportion of tumors expressing c-erbB2 and p53 proteins was similar in both populations. c-erbB2 positivity was significantly associated with positive lymph node status and with poorly differentiated carcinomas. Duration of relapse-free and overall survival was significantly longer in the Japanese women than in the Anglo women. Women with c-erbB2-negative tumors had a longer overall survival than women with c-erbB2-positive tumors and this difference was accentuated when patients were stratified according to country of origin. Japanese women with c-erbB2-negative tumors had the best outcome, whereas the Anglo women with c-erbB2-positive tumors had the worst. There was no relationship between p53 status and any histopathological features or clinical outcome. Differences in the expression of c-erbB2 and p53 do not explain the better outcome experienced by Japanese breast cancer patients.