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Background: Tumor angiogenesis, as assayed by microvessel density, has been proposed as an independent prognostic marker for clinical outcome in breast cancer patients. Purpose: The present study evaluated the microvessel density assay and assessed its utility, alone and together with the evaluation of other tumor characteristics, in predicting outcome in patients with invasive ductal carcinomas. Methods: In a blinded design, cases of invasive ductal carcinoma were selected from a registry containing the records of and tumor specimens from 386 breast cancer patients treated at the Massachusetts General Hospital from 1977 through 1982. After the exclusion of ineligible patients and inadequate specimens, 220 patients were included in the study; their median time of follow-up was 11.5 years. Half of these patients (n = 110) were positive for axillary lymph node metastases. Histologic sections of the tumors were stained immunocytochemically for factor VIII, a coagulation protein expressed by blood vessel endothelium, and for p53 protein. Independently, two analysts counted microvessels in three microscope fields selected from separate vascular regions of the tumor. Variability in microvessel scores between analysts and among different fields of the same tumor was summarized by the coefficient of variation. The kappa statistic tested for agreement between the analysts while correcting for chance agreement. The effects of tumor characteristics on metastasis-free survival and overall survival were tested univariately by the Harrington--Fleming rank test procedure. The effect of multiple factors on survival was tested under a Cox multivariate proportional hazards model. Results: Microvessel count showed considerable variability between the two analysts and among regions within each tumor, with an overall concordance for tumor classification of 73%. Univariate analysis revealed no association between microvessel count and any other tumor or patient characteristic. Multivariate analysis indicated, for these patients, that nodal status and p53 staining predicted metastasis-free survival and that nodal status, estrogen receptor (ER) status, and tumor grade predicted overall survival. Conclusions: Microvessel count showed much variation among different regions of each tumor. It did not predict metastasis-free survival or overall survival. Nodal status was the most powerful criterion to stratify these patients with invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast into different survival groups. Only ER status, tumor grade, and p53 staining had additional prognostic utility for these patients after they had been stratified by nodal status.

There were a number of issues related to newspaper publishers' archiving of information that were discussed at the National Press Photographers Association's Digital '95 conference and trade show. Platform providers, for example, are concentrating their efforts on delivering customized systems that publishers can easily integrate into workflow. Other issues include text and image retrieval efficiency, when to scan photographic materials and newspaper's building their own archiving systems., ARCHIVING WAS THE order of the day as far as vendors were concerned at Digital'95, the conference and trade show sponsored by the National Press Photographers Association in San Francisco [...]

New second-generation digital cameras have been introduced by teams of major photographic equipment and film manufacturers. The film manufacturers supply the electronic components of the cameras while the camera manufacturers provide the optics and mechanical components. Eastman Kodak Co and Canon Inc have introduced the EOS DCS digital cameras and Fuji Photo Film has linked with Nikon Inc to introduce the E2, E2s, DS505 and DS515 models., Home to heavyweight championships, Las Vegas was a natural venue when the biggest names in cameras and film introduced competing products at the mammoth Photo Marketing Association conference and exhibition, [...]

Fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) is a well established method for diagnosing breast lesions. including cancers. FNAB does not require surgery and uses only a small amount of material. FNAB can also be used to acquire material for special studies. This is especially useful with small tumors ([greater than or = tp]1 cm) when most of the material is needed to make a histologic diagnosis. Immunostaining techniques can be used on FNABs to investigate proliferation by bromodeoxyuridine uptake or Ki-67 labeling. Immunostaining techniques can also be used to identify oncoprotein expression, such as of p53. Fluorescence in situ hybridization is a technique that can be used to gather cytogenetic information directly from interphase tumor cells is and is well suited for use with FNAB material because the harvested nuclei are intact and no cumbersome dissociation processing is needed. Flow cytometric techniques can be applied to FNAB material to study DNA content and S-phase fraction. Material acquired by FNAB can also be analyzed by the polymerase chain reaction followed by mutation detection. In this report, the authors show the applicability of these various analytic approaches to FNAB material from primary breast cancers. They show that it is essential that the FNAB harvest is representative, ample, and well prepared for the success of these studies. Cancer 1994; 74:1000-5. Key words: fine needle aspiration biopsy, fluorescence in situ hybridization, immunochemistry, polymerase chain reaction.

Sports coverage of the 1994 Super Bowl and Winter Olympics allowed newspapers to experiment with photo transmission equipment. Much of the testing concentrated not on new technologies but on improved uses of current hardware and software. Among the equipment used were the Macintosh Quadra and Powerbook computers, the Phoenix transmission system and Kodak scanners., THE QUEST FOR the fastest, lightest, most easily connected photo transmission solution continues to find its best testing grounds at the variety of major sporting events throughout the world. At [...]

Background. Tumor labeling index has emerged as a strong predictor of the clinical course of women with breast cancer. This study investigated whether labeling index of primary tumors correlates with labeling indices of concurrent regional node metastases. Methods. With appropriate written consent, preoperative in vivo infusion of the thymidine analogue 5-bromodeoxyuridine (BrdUrd) was used to label 109 human breast cancers. Labeled S-phase cells were identified immunohistochemically with an antibody specific to DNA-incorporated BrdUrd. Labeling index was the fraction of labeled nuclei in 2000 tumor nuclei. For 30 women, there was sufficient cancer in axillary lymph nodes to compare labeling indices in primary breast cancer and regional lymph node metastases. Results. The 30 women were from 25 to 82 years of age. Tumors were from 1 to 12 cm in size and there were from 1 to 26 positive nodes. Tumor labeling index ranged from 0.1% to 34%, (mean, 11.1%; median, 10.3%) and axillary lymph node metastasis labeling index ranged from 0.1% to 27.7% (mean, 10.8%; median, 10.0%). There was strong correlation between primary tumor labeling index and regional lymph node metastases labeling index (r = 0.82, with 95% confidence interval 0.65-0.91). The correlation persisted within subgroups according to age, tumor size, number of positive nodes, and hormone receptor status. Primary tumor and lymph node metastases labeling indices also had statistically similar relationships with age, level of hormone receptors, tumor size, and number of positive nodes. Conclusions. Primary tumor and regional node labeling indices correlate strongly; the relationship is not influenced by age, level of hormone receptors, tumor size, or number of positive nodes.

Background: Mutations of the tumor suppressor gene p53 have been identified in breast cancer cell lines, and some breast carcinomas are detectable by immunohistochemical assay because of p53 protein accumulation. Purpose: This study was designed to determine whether p53 protein accumulation in breast cancers correlates with p53 gene mutation, with survival, and with five pathobiologic factors associated with prognosis. Methods: IgG1 monoclonal antibody to human p53 protein (PAb 1801) and immunohistochemical methods were used to detect p53 protein accumulation in archival formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded, randomly selected carcinomas. We studied 295 invasive ductal carcinomas from the Massachusetts General Hospital; 151 were determined to be sporadic (not hereditary). We also studied 97 invasive ductal carcinomas - 21 sporadic and 76 familial (hereditary) - from Creighton University. In addition, we examined 31 archival in situ carcinomas, 15 snap-frozen invasive ductal carcinomas, primary cell cultures from three benign breast tissue samples, and breast carcinoma cell lines MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-468. Results: Nuclear p53 protein was observed in 16% of the 31 in situ carcinomas, 22% of the 172 sporadic carcinomas, 34% of the 50 tumors from patients with familial breast cancer, 52% of the 23 tumors from patients with the familial breast and ovarian cancer syndrome, and all three tumors from two patients with the Li-Fraumeni syndrome. There was complete concordance between p53 gene mutation and p53 protein accumulation in the 15 snap-frozen carcinomas and in both breast carcinoma cell lines. Statistically significant associations of p53 protein accumulation with estrogen receptor negativity and with high nuclear grade were found. There were statistically significant associations, independent of other prognostic factors, between p53 protein accumulation and metastasis-free and overall survival, for randomly accrued and for both sporadic and familial tumors. Conclusions: Immunohistochemically detected p53 protein accumulation was an independent marker of shortened survival and was seen more often in familial than in sporadic carcinomas. Our findings also suggest a correlation between p53 protein accumulation and p53 gene mutation.

Background: Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at specific chromosomal regions in the tumor cells implicates the presence of tumor suppressor genes. However, it is also possible for an LOH to be randomly acquired and irrelevant to tumor development. Purpose: To determine whether a particular LOH in human breast carcinomas represents a loss of tumor suppresor gene or merely a random loss, we analyzed untreated primary breast cancers for LOH. Methods Ninety-eight primary human breast cancers from previously untreated patients were analyzed for LOH at 12 chromosomal regions including five randomly selected regions and seven regions previously reported in other cancer types and/or breast cancers. Results: The baseline incidence of LOH was five out of 124 tests (4%) using randomly selected probes on chromosomes 1p, 2p, 4p, 11q, and Xq. Incidences of LOH significantly greater than background were seen in the following chromosomal regions: 22q (10 of 26 cases, 38%); 18p (five of 24 cases, 21%); 17p (30 of 59 cases, 51%); 13q (five of 14 cases, 36%); 3p (13 of 28 cases, 46%); and 1q (18 of 70 cases, 26%). In contrast to previous reports, the incidence of LOH was not significantly different from background for 11p15. In all cases, results were the same for metastatic lymph nodes and primary tumors, suggesting that the losses occurred early in the malignant progression. In cases with LOH at more than one locus, the same DNA sample often varied in degree of signal reduction for the missing alleles. Conclusion: These observations indicate the presence of both intertumor and intratumor heterogeneity for LOH. [J Natl Cancer Inst 84:506-510, 1992]

Acquiring desktop publishing skills can be a long and difficult process for newspaper publishers, according to several newspaper consultants. Learning computer applications such as Adobe Photoshop requires extensive training and time to apply what is learned. The use of such technology can also result in the development of new responsibilities in all aspects of the publishing process., A NEWSPAPER INDUSTRY consultant is fond of telling a story depicting the way things were at the beginning of the newspaper desktop revolution. He says this tale-worth-telling happened when he [...]

Newspapers face a number of challenges when archiving photos electronically. They must choose from a variety of efficient products, determining which computer network and graphics equipment best suit their needs. In addition, electronic photo archiving requires research, photo and editorial departments to coordinate use of the computer network., AT THE NATIONAL Press Photographers Association's Digital '94 conference and exposition, attendees on the lookout for the 'next big thing' instead may find themselves looking inward for keys to archiving [...]

The 25 Macintoshes, 16 Quadras, four Centris 650s and six FXs in the Tacoma (WA) Morning News Tribune office are a far cry from 1989, when the paper had only two computers and eight enlargers. The Morning News will soon install the Quark Publishing System. This pagination system will enable it to use QuarkXPress 3.2, which has EfiColor tables. Since making the transition to digital publishing, the paper has become one of the top 100 news dailies in the country., WHILE EVERYONE ELSE was buckling down for the long haul, Greg Anderson at the Tacoma, Wash., Morning News Tribune was on a shopping spree. Today, his paper has more than [...]