ASSESSMENT OF PROLIFERATIVE ACTIVITY IN BREAST CARCINOMA

Abstract

This study included So cases of primary invasive breast carcinoma, selected from the files of department of pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Assuit University Hospital. They included 39 cases of infiltrating duct carcinoma, 3 of medullary carcinoma, 2 of tubular carcinoma, two of mucoid carcinoma and one case of cribriform carcinoma, one lobular carcinoma, one case of mixed mucoid and IDC and a case of squamous c'pell carcinoma.

Four methods of estimating proliferative activity were compared: mitosis per 10 high power fields, mitosis per 1,000 tumour cells, Ki-67 immunostaining and detection ofNORs by silver stain. All methods were dorie on paraffin embedded materials. The cases of infiltrating duct carcinoma were graded according to modified SBR classification. Statistical analysis of the results showed highly significant

correlation between the four methods of estimating proliferative activity. The strongest correlation was observed between MFC and MFI. Histological tumour grade and axillary lymph node status are two

important prognostic factors in breast carcinoma. The grade was strongly correlated with four methods of estimating proliferative activity. Mitotic figure count {MFC) was the only method associated with the presence or absence of axillary lymph node metastasis.