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In order to determine the prognostic value of c-erbB-2 protein and Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGF-R), we used an immunohistochemical procedure with specific antibodies on paraffin-embedded material from a series of 73 operable breast cancer carcinomas. c-erbB-2 protein (c-erbB-2 score > 1) was overexpressed in 10/73 cases (14%) and EGF-R (EGF-R ratio > 1) in 42/73 cases (58%). c-erbB-2 overexpression was correlated with tumour size (P < 0.02) and lymph-node involvement (P = 0.05) whereas EGF-R overexpression did not correlate with any of the variables tested. The relative risk of relapse was respectively 1 vs 4.5 (P = 0.001) for patients with a negative (0-1) or positive (> 1) c-erbB-2 score and 1 vs 3 for patients with an EGF-R ratio < or = 1 and > 1 (P = 0.03). Moreover, c-erbB-2 protein overexpression is more specifically an early factor of poor prognosis whereas EGF-R overexpression is a long-term factor of poor prognosis. Patients with an early good prognosis (c-erbB-2 score = 0-1) are found to relapse with time when EGF-R is overexpressed. In a multivariate analysis including axillary lymph-node status, histological grade, tumour size, ER status, c-erbB-2 score, EGF-ratio and hormonal treatment, c-erbB-2 overexpression was the most powerful parameter (P = 0.001) followed by EGF-R overexpression (P = 0.02). We concluded that, in our series, the combined determination of c-erbB-2 protein and EGF-R appeared to be a prognostic indicator whereby both early and long term prognosis could be determined in breast cancer patients.

Five year survival of 683 mammary carcinomas would confirm the prognostic value of T.N.M. classification (UICC), of tumor particular characteristics (size, fixation to neighbouring structures) and presence or absence of clinical nodes. A clinical-histological relationship was studied for axillary nodes: in our experience, clinical determination is more reliable for estimation of N0 and N2 than N1. Three groups of age were considered; the age, T and N corrected five year survival show a higher mortality for patients older than 60 years with T3-T4, N greater than 0 carcinomas. The study of this prospective computerised register confirms the prognostic value of developping growth tumors (PEV) described by P. Denoix. In fact, inflammatory carcinomas (PEV 2-PEV 3) show a poor 5 year survival and PEV 1 is an intermediate pronostic group between stable and inflammatory carcinomas. PEV 1 was showed to be an independant clinical factor from T and N characteristics.

The determination of progesterone receptors (RP) was performed on 80 benign and malignant human breast tumors with a single saturating dose method (10 nM) using dextran-coated charcoal (PR-Bio) and an enzymo-immunoassay (PgR-EIA). There was a significant correlation between the 2 methods qualitatively (P less than 0.001) and quantitatively (r = 0.79). However the results were significantly higher using the PgR-EIA method than the PR-Bio method (P = 0.04) with a regression line Y = 0.81 x +0.58.