[New factors of possible prognostic value in breast cancer]

Over the past 10 years, we have witnessed a variety of potential prognostic factors of breast cancer including proliferative rate, ploidy, growth factor receptors, oncogenes and cathepsin D production. Some of these variables seem to predict the prognosis of the patients but the available data are conflicting and call for carefully conducted quality-control studies to analyze intra- and interlaboratory variations. In this review, we provided a framework from which prognostic factor information can be used directly to make treatment decisions.