Estrogen receptor status as a prognostic indicator for stage I breast cancer patients

Summary The prognostic value of estrogen receptor determination was studied for 510 stage I (axillary node negative) breast cancer patients treated by mastectomy alone.Results at 60 months after mastectomy indicate that stage I patients whose tumors lack estrogen receptors fall into a significantly poorer prognostic group for both recurrence and survival than those whose tumors contain estrogen receptors.Within the postmenopausal group, estrogen receptor negative (ER –) patients are recurring more rapidly than estrogen receptor positive (ER +) patients. Within the premenopausal group, ER + patients have a recurrence rate identical to ER– patients, which is apparent only after prolonged follow-up.In contrast to postmenopausal ER + patients, premenopausal ER + patients appear to have no prognostic advantage over the ER – patients, and thus constitute a high risk group for which adjuvant endocrine therapy might prove beneficial.Participating Investigators: Frank M. Barry, M.D., A.M. Cooperman, M.D., Ludwig Deppisch, M.D., Robert L. Druet, M.D., Caldwell Esselstyn, M.D., Y.S. Fu, M.D., Vernon D. Hacker, M.D., Harold B. Houser, M.D., Ezra Steiger, M.D. and Elden C. Weckesser, M.D.