<TOGGLE>int</TOGGLE>-2 Oncogene amplification and prognosis in node-negative breast carcinoma

The role of int-2 oncogene amplification on the prognosis of breast cancer patients was investigated in 128 patients with node-negative primary breast cancers given first-line local-regional treatments until relapse and with a median follow-up of 65 months. Tumours had been previously characterised for oestrogen (ER) and progesterone receptor (PgR) status and proliferative activity (³H-thymidine labelling index). Amplification of the int-2 oncogene occurred in 18% of cases and was significantly related to the presence of hormone receptors and to menopausal status or age, but not to proliferative status. Patients with tumours exhibiting int-2 amplification had a lower probability of disease-free survival than patients with non-amplified tumours and frequently developed local-regional recurrence. Disease-free survival analysis, adjusted for the prognostic contribution provided by tumour size, steroid receptors and proliferative rate, indicated that the association between int-2 amplification and risk of relapse was maintained and remained constant even in the presence of the other co-variates. Interestingly, int-2 amplification was a further prognostic discriminant within subsets of patients with a putatively good (i.e., tumour size &lt;20 mm, ER⁺ and PgR⁺) or poor prognosis (i.e., high labelling index). Our exploratory study suggests that within node-negative patients, int-2 amplification could be a valuable and independent prognosticator, useful to identify patients at high risk of local-regional recurrence. Int. J. Cancer 74:620–624, 1997.© 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.