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. 2014 Apr 2;110(7):1744-7.
doi: 10.1038/bjc.2014.69. Epub 2014 Feb 18.

The prognostic significance of tumour-stroma ratio in oestrogen receptor-positive breast cancer

C L Downey  1 , S A Simpkins  1 , J White  1 , D L Holliday  1 , J L Jones  2 , L B Jordan  3 , J Kulka  4 , S Pollock  1 , S S Rajan  1 , H H Thygesen  1 , A M Hanby  1 , V Speirs  1
Affiliations

The prognostic significance of tumour-stroma ratio in oestrogen receptor-positive breast cancer

C L Downey et al. Br J Cancer. .

Abstract

Background: A high percentage of stroma predicts poor survival in triple-negative breast cancers but is diminished in studies of unselected cases. We determined the prognostic significance of tumour-stroma ratio (TSR) in oestrogen receptor (ER)-positive male and female breast carcinomas.

Methods: TSR was measured in haematoxylin and eosin-stained tissue sections (118 female and 62 male). Relationship of TSR (cutoff 49%) to overall survival (OS) and relapse-free survival (RFS) was analysed.

Results: Tumours with ≥49% stroma were associated with better survival in female (OS P=0.008, HR=0.2-0.7; RFS P=0.006, HR=0.1-0.6) and male breast cancer (OS P=0.005, HR=0.05-0.6; RFS P=0.01, HR=0.87-5.6), confirmed in multivariate analysis.

Conclusions: High stromal content was related to better survival in ER-positive breast cancers across both genders, contrasting data in triple-negative breast cancer and highlighting the importance of considering ER status when interpreting the prognostic value of TSR.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Kaplan–Meier survival curves showing relapse-free survival (A, C) and overall (B, D) survival after stratification by TSR in ER-positive female (A, B) and male (C, D) breast cancer. Solid line, high stroma; dotted line, low stroma.
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