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TUMOUR ANGIOGENESIS AS A PROGNOSTIC MARKER IN INFILTRATING LOBULAR CARCINOMA OF THE BREAST
Author(s) -
MORPHOPOULOS G.,
PEARSON M.,
RYDER W. D. J.,
HOWELL A.,
HARRIS M.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
the journal of pathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.964
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1096-9896
pISSN - 0022-3417
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1096-9896(199609)180:1<44::aid-path648>3.0.co;2-c
Subject(s) - microvessel , medicine , angiogenesis , vascularity , pathology , lymph node , breast carcinoma , pathological , breast cancer , carcinoma , neovascularization , lobular carcinoma , immunohistochemistry , cancer , ductal carcinoma
The importance of angiogenesis, assessed by tumour microvessel density, as a marker of survival was examined in 160 patients with infiltrating lobular carcinoma of the breast (ILC). The median follow‐up was 5·1 years. Of these patients, 46 were node‐negative, 59 were node‐positive, and in 55 the pathological lymph node status was not known. Tumour sections were immunohistochemically stained with Factor VIII‐related antibody. Microvessels were identified using previously recommended methodology and counted in three separate fields, selected from areas of highest vascularity, at ×200 magnification (field area=0·785 mm 2 ). Only the highest count was considered in the analysis. No association was found between microvessel density and age, menopausal status, tumour size, histological subtype, peritumoural vessel invasion, and lymph node involvement at presentation. There was no association between microvessel density and overall survival or relapse‐free survival. These results suggest that microvessel density assessment, using currently recommended methods, is unlikely to be of prognostic value in ILC.