Purpose: to evaluate the prognostic value of estrogen receptor and p53 and c-erbB-2 proteins in lymph node-negative breast cancer. Methods: an immunohistochemical study was made in paraffin-embedded tissues from the file of the Instituto de Pesquisas Cito-Oncológicas of the Fundação Faculdade Federal de Ciências Médicas de Porto Alegre of fifty cases of postmenopausal women, who were treated at the Irmandade da Santa Casa de Misericórdia de Porto Alegre and at the Santa Rita Hospital from 1990 to 1994. For statistical analysis c² with Yates correction, as well as exact Fisher tests were used and Kaplan Meier curves compared with log-rank test. The mean follow-up of the patients was 3.6 years (3.1-4.5). Of the 50 cases, 14 showed recurrence during the period of follow-up. Results: the mean age was 61 years (46-78). Modified radical mastectomy was performed in 35 patients (70%) and 15 (30%) were submitted to lumpectomy/axillary dissection and postoperative radiation therapy. Fifty percent of the patients who showed recurrence did it in the first three years after the diagnosis. The mean size of the tumor was 2.8 cm (1.98-3.13) and the most frequent histological type was invasive ductal carcinoma of no special type (92%), according to the Bloom and Richardson graduation, 3 being stage I (6.6%), 35 stage II (76%) and 8 stage III (17.4%). In the tumors with recurrence, there was no grade I, 9 stage II (25.7%) and 3 stage III (37.5%). In relation to the prognosis, the disease-free interval was less when there was association of a poorly differentiated tumor with negative estrogen receptor (p = 0.006), positive p53 (p = 0.006) and positive c-erbB-2 (p = 0.001). Conclusion: postmenopausal women with lymph node-negative breast cancer showed worse prognosis in relation to disease-free interval when they presented poorly differentiated tumor associated with negative estrogen receptor, positive p53 and positive c-erbB-2.
Breast; Metastasis; Estrogen receptor; Oncogenes; Cancer; Menopause
