Factors in Breast Cancer- A Study with Long Term Follow-up

aims of this study were to evaluate the prognostic roles of bcl-2 and apoptosis in patients with breast cancer after long term follow-up, and the correlation with the known clinicopathological parameters. Methods: 88 primary breast cancers were selected between March 1988 and February 1994. These cases were clinically followed up over 10 years (median follow-up 139 months). The immunohistochemical expression of bcl-2 protein and apoptosis were studied, and the findings compared to the clinicopathological parameters, such as estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and clinical stage. Results: The bcl-2 protein was identified in 42 (47.7%) cases. The bcl-2 expression correlated positively with large tumor sizes, well differentiated tumors, and ER expression. No significant associations were seen between the apoptosi