Prognostic factors for breast cancer and their use in the clinical setting

Abstract

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in US women today. This year, approximately 216,000 US women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer and another 60,000 with in situ disease. Numerous factors can quantify individual risks for breast cancer, guide therapy and predict outcome. This review focuses on the clinical, pathologic, molecular and genetic prognostic tools available for use in patients with breast cancer, and their impact on clinical decisions and treatment selection.

Keywords::

• breast neoplasms
• gene expression
• HER-2/neu
• hormone receptors
• prognostic factors