(Rochefort, 1992). The most extensively studied protease in human breast cancer is cathepsin D, which was first identified as a 52 kDa oestrogen-dependent glycoprotein in MCF-7 cells (Rochefort et al., 1987

HER-2 oncoprotein expression has long-term prognostic significance for predicting poor survival in BC, and it has an independent prognostic value among patients who presented with axillary nodal metastases. This result is contradictory to the argument that HER-2 expression is only a marker for drug resistance because the patients were not given adjuvant drug therapy.

Current knowledge of the phenotype of mononuclear cells accumulating in pancreatic islets in insulin-dependent diabetes (IDDM) and factors determining their homing into the pancreas is limited. Therefore, a pancreas obtained at the onset of IDDM was studied in detail. Cryostat sections were stained for mononuclear cell types, T cell receptor subtypes, and adhesion molecules of vascular endothelium and studied by immunofluorescence microscopy, and peripheral blood mononuclear cells were phenotyped using flow cytometry. Monocytes/macrophages (lysozyme-or CD 14-reactive cells) were identified among other mononuclear cell types in islet infiltrates. Vft

Invasive lobular carcinoma of the breast has better short-and long-term survival than invasive ductal carcinoma S Toikkanen', L Pylkkanen2and H Joensuu3Departments of 'Pathology and 2Oncology, University Central Hospital of Turku, Kiinamyllynkatu 10, FIN-20520 Turku, Finland; 3Department of Oncology, University Central Hospital of Helsinki, Haartmaninkatu 4, Helsinki, Finland Summary The outcome and prognostic factors of 217 women with invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) and those of 1121 women with invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) of the breast were compared. The patients were followed up for 10-43 years. Women with ILC had axillary nodal metastases less frequently than those with IDC (43% vs 53%, P= 0.02), although there was no difference in the primary tumour size between the groups. ILCs were more frequently of low grade, had lower mitotic counts and had less tumour necrosis. Furthermore, ILCs had lower Sphase fractions and were more often DNA diploid in flow cytometric analysis than IDCs (P < 0.0001 for all comparisons). The 5-and 30-year corrected survival rates of women with ILC were 78% and 50%, respectively, compared with 63% and 37% for women with IDC (P = 0.001). Small pTl NOMO ILCs (n = 41) had 100% 1 0-year and 83% 20-year corrected survival rates. In a multivariate analysis, a large primary tumour size, the presence of axillary nodal metastases, a high mitotic count and the presence of tumour necrosis all had an independent prognostic value in ILC. We conclude that ILC is associated with better survival than IDC.

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