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Prognostic potential of flow cytometric S-phase and ploidy prospectively determined in primary breast carcinomas

Ewers, Sven-Börje LU ; Attewell, Robyn ; Baldetorp, Bo LU ; Borg, Åke LU ; Långström-Einarsson, Eva LU and Killander, Dick LU (1992) In Breast Cancer Research and Treatment 20(2). p.93-108
Abstract
In a prospective study of a consecutive breast cancer series accumulated in the period 1978-82, the S-phase fraction (SPF) and ploidy status were determined by flow cytometry performed on cell nuclei derived from samples of 580 primary tumors. Sixty percent of the tumors were non-diploid. After correction for debris the median SPF values were 7.3% overall, 12% for non-diploid tumors, and 2.9% for diploid tumors (2.6% when nodal subsets N2 and N3 and cases with metastases at presentation were excluded). The SPF values correlated both to tumor size (p = 0.008) and to the number of positive axillary lymph nodes (p = 0.03). At clinical follow-up in 1986, 467 unilateral breast cancer patients who had undergone radical treatment for cure could... (More)
In a prospective study of a consecutive breast cancer series accumulated in the period 1978-82, the S-phase fraction (SPF) and ploidy status were determined by flow cytometry performed on cell nuclei derived from samples of 580 primary tumors. Sixty percent of the tumors were non-diploid. After correction for debris the median SPF values were 7.3% overall, 12% for non-diploid tumors, and 2.9% for diploid tumors (2.6% when nodal subsets N2 and N3 and cases with metastases at presentation were excluded). The SPF values correlated both to tumor size (p = 0.008) and to the number of positive axillary lymph nodes (p = 0.03). At clinical follow-up in 1986, 467 unilateral breast cancer patients who had undergone radical treatment for cure could be evaluated with respect to the prognostic value of both the SPF value and ploidy status. The median duration of follow-up was then 59 months (range 2-90), and the median time-to-recurrence 24 months (range 2-69, n = 137). At follow-up in 1991, 201/467 of the patients had died, the median duration of follow-up being 50 months (range 2-126) for the decreased, and 119 (range 6-148) for the survivors. In multivariate analysis (Cox's proportional hazards models), the strongest independent predictors of distant recurrence-free survival (DRFS) were the number of positive axillary lymph nodes (p less than 0.0001), the debris-corrected SPF value alone (p = 0.003, versus p = 0.05 for uncorrected value), and ploidy status combined with the corrected SPF value (p = 0.0002). When age was taken into account, both the corrected SPF value and the ploidy-SPF combination were predictors of crude survival (p = 0.006 and p = 0.002, respectively). In univariate life-table analysis, the 5-year DRFS rate was 93% in node-negative (N0) cases with an SPF less than 7.3%, as compared to 80% in those with an SPF greater than or equal to 7.3% (p = 0.005). Among node-positive cases, the prognostic value of the SPF was confined to those with 1-3 positive nodes, the 5-year DRFS rate being 68% in cases with an SPF less than 7.3%, as compared to 40% in cases with an SPF greater than or equal to 7.3% (p = 0.01).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS) (Less)
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author
; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
breast cancer, flow cytometry, ploidy, prognosis, S-phase fraction
in
Breast Cancer Research and Treatment
volume
20
issue
2
pages
93 - 108
publisher
Springer
external identifiers
  • pmid:1554892
  • scopus:0026546032
ISSN
1573-7217
DOI
10.1007/BF01834639
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
3f86a3bc-2193-4325-b5dd-8dab22f43fb8 (old id 1106308)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 15:48:42
date last changed
2021-01-03 11:22:52
@article{3f86a3bc-2193-4325-b5dd-8dab22f43fb8,
  abstract     = {{In a prospective study of a consecutive breast cancer series accumulated in the period 1978-82, the S-phase fraction (SPF) and ploidy status were determined by flow cytometry performed on cell nuclei derived from samples of 580 primary tumors. Sixty percent of the tumors were non-diploid. After correction for debris the median SPF values were 7.3% overall, 12% for non-diploid tumors, and 2.9% for diploid tumors (2.6% when nodal subsets N2 and N3 and cases with metastases at presentation were excluded). The SPF values correlated both to tumor size (p = 0.008) and to the number of positive axillary lymph nodes (p = 0.03). At clinical follow-up in 1986, 467 unilateral breast cancer patients who had undergone radical treatment for cure could be evaluated with respect to the prognostic value of both the SPF value and ploidy status. The median duration of follow-up was then 59 months (range 2-90), and the median time-to-recurrence 24 months (range 2-69, n = 137). At follow-up in 1991, 201/467 of the patients had died, the median duration of follow-up being 50 months (range 2-126) for the decreased, and 119 (range 6-148) for the survivors. In multivariate analysis (Cox's proportional hazards models), the strongest independent predictors of distant recurrence-free survival (DRFS) were the number of positive axillary lymph nodes (p less than 0.0001), the debris-corrected SPF value alone (p = 0.003, versus p = 0.05 for uncorrected value), and ploidy status combined with the corrected SPF value (p = 0.0002). When age was taken into account, both the corrected SPF value and the ploidy-SPF combination were predictors of crude survival (p = 0.006 and p = 0.002, respectively). In univariate life-table analysis, the 5-year DRFS rate was 93% in node-negative (N0) cases with an SPF less than 7.3%, as compared to 80% in those with an SPF greater than or equal to 7.3% (p = 0.005). Among node-positive cases, the prognostic value of the SPF was confined to those with 1-3 positive nodes, the 5-year DRFS rate being 68% in cases with an SPF less than 7.3%, as compared to 40% in cases with an SPF greater than or equal to 7.3% (p = 0.01).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)}},
  author       = {{Ewers, Sven-Börje and Attewell, Robyn and Baldetorp, Bo and Borg, Åke and Långström-Einarsson, Eva and Killander, Dick}},
  issn         = {{1573-7217}},
  keywords     = {{breast cancer; flow cytometry; ploidy; prognosis; S-phase fraction}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{93--108}},
  publisher    = {{Springer}},
  series       = {{Breast Cancer Research and Treatment}},
  title        = {{Prognostic potential of flow cytometric S-phase and ploidy prospectively determined in primary breast carcinomas}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01834639}},
  doi          = {{10.1007/BF01834639}},
  volume       = {{20}},
  year         = {{1992}},
}