Breast cancer without axillary metastases. Are there high-risk biologic subpopulations?

Two hundred seventy-five patients with breast cancer and no axillary metastases had mastectomies and axillary node dissection performed during the period between 1970 and 1979 at The Fox Chase Cancer Center. They had a mean age of 60 years (range, 21-91) and 38 (14%) patients have had recurrence to date. Poor histologic differentiation and skin involvement were related to a high risk of recurrence. Those patients with skin infiltration by tumor or a poorly differentiated tumor had a 53 +/- 9% expected five-year tumor-free survival, whereas patients without these had a 90 +/- 2% expected five-year tumor-free survival. Tumor involvement of the lymphatic vessels within the breast and estrogen receptor protein positivity or negativity were not helpful for identifying a subpopulation at increased risk of recurrence. Large tumor size was not a poor prognostic indicator for a patient subpopulation. These factors should be considered as indicators for inclusion in clinical trials and adjuvant therapy and used as stratification points for the analysis of the data developed in these trials.