The correlation between estrogen receptor status, axillary-node metastases and disease-free interval after surgery in primary breast cancer.

The prognostic value of estrogen receptor (ER) status in primary breast cancer was evaluated in 208 women subjected to Halsted radical mastectomy. The correlation between ER status, node involvement and disease-free interval after surgery was analyzed in detail. Forty-seven out of 127 ER-positive patients received hormonal adjuvant therapy, whereas the 81 ER-negative patients did not. Similar recurrence rates were found in ER-negative and untreated ER-positive patients, suggesting that the natural course of disease was not related to ER status. ER-positive patients who received hormonal adjuvant therapy showed a significantly longer disease-free interval than both ER-negative and untreated ER-positive patients, even though a higher frequency of node involvement was found in ER-positive tumors. Since only hormone-treated ER-positive patients showed a significantly lower recurrence rate, it is felt that ER status cannot be used as an independent prognostic factor.