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Pooled analysis of the prognostic relevance of progesterone receptor status in five German cohort studies

  • Epidemiology
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Abstract

The progesterone receptor (PR) has been increasingly well described as an important mediator of the pathogenesis and progression of breast cancer. The aim of this study was to assess the role of PR status as a prognostic factor in addition to other well-established prognostic factors. Data from five independent German breast cancer centers were pooled. A total of 7,965 breast cancer patients were included for whom information about their PR status was known, as well as other patient and tumor characteristics commonly used as prognostic factors. Cox proportional hazards models were built to compare the predictive value of PR status in addition to age at diagnosis, tumor size, nodal status, grading, and estrogen receptor (ER) status. PR status significantly increased the accuracy of prognostic predictions with regard to overall survival, distant disease-free survival, and local recurrence-free survival. There were differences with regard to its prognostic value relative to subgroups such as nodal status, ER status, and grading. The prognostic value of PR status was greatest in patients with a positive nodal status, negative ER status, and low grading. The PR-status adds prognostic value in addition to ER status and should not be omitted from clinical routine testing. The significantly greater prognostic value in node-positive and high-grade tumors suggests a greater role in the progression of advanced and aggressive tumors.

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Acknowledgments

This work was partly funded by the ELAN programme of the University Hospital Erlangen.

Conflict of Interest

AH declares a consultant role for Medac, PAF declares a consultant role for Novartis and research funding by Novartis, WJ declares research funding by Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Novartis. All other authors declare that they do not have any conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Ulm University Hospital, Ulm, Germany

    Jessica Salmen, Jens Huober & Wolfgang Janni

  2. Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Campus Innenstadt University Hospital, Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany

    Julia Neugebauer, Tobias Weissenbacher, Bernd Kost, Klaus Friese & Brigitte Rack

  3. University Breast Center, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Erlangen University Hospital, Erlangen, Germany

    Peter A. Fasching, Lothar Haeberle, Claudia Rauh, Christian R. Loehberg, Alexander Hein & Matthias W. Beckmann

  4. Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Breast Unit, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany

    Florian Schuetz, Joerg Heil, Joachim Rom & Christof Sohn

  5. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Freiburg University Medical Center, Freiburg, Germany

    Elmar Stickeler & Maximilian Klar

  6. Institute of Pathology, Freiburg University Medical Center, Freiburg, Germany

    Marzenna Orlowska-Volk

  7. Department of Radiology, Freiburg University Medical Center, Freiburg, Germany

    Marisa Windfuhr-Blum

  8. Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Duesseldorf University Hospital, Duesseldorf, Germany

    Tanja Fehm & Svjetlana Mohrmann

  9. Institute of Pathology, University Breast Center, Erlangen University Hospital, Erlangen, Germany

    Arndt Hartmann

  10. Institute of Diagnostic Radiology, University Breast Center, Erlangen University Hospital, Erlangen, Germany

    Ruediger Schulz-Wendtland

  11. Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany

    Tanja Fehm, Andreas D. Hartkopf, Sara Y. Brucker & Diethelm Wallwiener

  12. Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology and Oncology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, USA

    Peter A. Fasching

  13. Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Comprehensive Cancer Center EMN, Erlangen University Hospital, Friedrich-Alexander University, Erlangen–Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany

    Peter A. Fasching

  14. Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Würzburg University Hospital, Würzburg, Germany

    Achim Wöckel

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  1. Jessica Salmen
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  2. Julia Neugebauer
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  3. Peter A. Fasching
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  4. Lothar Haeberle
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  5. Jens Huober
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  6. Achim Wöckel
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  7. Claudia Rauh
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  8. Florian Schuetz
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  9. Tobias Weissenbacher
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  11. Elmar Stickeler
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  12. Maximilian Klar
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  13. Marzenna Orlowska-Volk
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  14. Marisa Windfuhr-Blum
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  15. Joerg Heil
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  16. Joachim Rom
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  17. Christof Sohn
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  18. Tanja Fehm
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  19. Svjetlana Mohrmann
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  20. Christian R. Loehberg
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  21. Alexander Hein
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  22. Ruediger Schulz-Wendtland
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  23. Andreas D. Hartkopf
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  26. Klaus Friese
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  28. Matthias W. Beckmann
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  29. Wolfgang Janni
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  30. Brigitte Rack
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Peter A. Fasching.

Additional information

Jessica Salmen and Julia Neugebauer have contributed equally to this study.

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Salmen, J., Neugebauer, J., Fasching, P.A. et al. Pooled analysis of the prognostic relevance of progesterone receptor status in five German cohort studies. Breast Cancer Res Treat 148, 143–151 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-014-3130-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-014-3130-4

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