Breast cancer: prognostic significance of c-erb-B2 and int-2 amplification compared with DNA ploidy, S-phase fraction, and conventional clinicopathological features.

The prognostic value of oncogene amplification and conventional clinicopathological features was determined in consecutive breast cancers detected during 5 months in 1975-1976 in 4 Swedish counties. Material was collected from 162 of the 179 patients and tumor size, nodal status, FSH, estrogen/progesterone receptor status, DNA ploidy and S-phase fraction determined. Tissues remaining from 80 patients were stored frozen until 1991, when amplification of the oncogenes c-erb-B2 and int-2 was determined. We show that c-erb-B2 amplification (but not int-2 amplification) and positive axillary nodal status show prognostic significance for both survival and relapse-free survival in univariate and multivariate analysis. The other examined factors showed no significance.