Histological grading of breast cancer; significance of grade on recurrence and mortality

The influence of histological grade on the recurrence and mortality of patients with breast cancer is reported for 829 patients. The effect of the histological grade is also compared with the effect of axillary node involvement and the implications for clinical studies of the management of breast cancer discussed. The prognosis for both recurrence and death becomes increasingly poor as the degree of differentiation decreases, as reflected by the grading allocated to the tumour. This effect is independent of the clinical stage of the cancer at the time of treatment.