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Immunological Staining More Effective At Finding Hidden Breast Cancer Tumours LONDON, ENGLAND -- Sept. 10, 1999 -- In this week’s issue of The Lancet, the International Breast Cancer Study Group reports that immunological staining of tissue taken from lymph nodes in the armpit can detect hidden tumours in patients with breast cancer and predict whether cancer is likely to recur. Dr. R. Cote and colleagues from the United States and Europe investigated whether immunohistochemical methods could detect hidden lymph-node metastases (tumours) in patients with breast cancer. They also followed the patients up for 12 years to find out whether women with hidden tumours were at increased risk of disease progression. Tissue samples from lymph nodes in the armpit were taken from 736 women with breast cancer whose lymph nodes had already been classified as free of disease by conventional staining methods. The investigator compared immunohistochemical testing with standard staining techniques. Standard methods to stain the tissue samples detected hidden tumours in 52 (seven percent) of the 736 patients, whereas immunohistochemistry detected hidden tumours in 148 (20 percent) patients. In addition, the women who had hidden lymph-node tumours had a worse survival during the 12-year follow-up. Breast cancer was more likely to recur in the women who had hidden tumours than in those women without lymph-node tumours. Thus, immunohistochemical testing allows more accurate selection of those patients who will benefit most from adjuvant therapy for breast cancer. The researchers conclude that immunohistochemical examination of lymph nodes is a reliable, prognostically valuable and simple method for detection of occult nodal metastases. "The currently used standard methods of histological examination for assessment of lymph-node status in patients with breast cancer, particularly in postmenopausal patients, are no longer clinically tenable," they write. Related Links: The Lancet. E-mail this page to a friend or colleague! To print, use this version