Figure 6

Kaplan-Meier metastasis-free survival of node-negative ER-positive breast cancer cases identified from three independent data sets (Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Basel), with outcomes dichotomized for tumor expression (high, low) of the NFκB and AP-1 regulated genes cyclin D1, uPA, and VEGF. As described in Methods, the Rotterdam cases (n = 209) represented patients of all ages (26–83 years), none of whom received any adjuvant therapy; gene transcripts were measured by commercial (Affymetrix) microarray platform, and high/low dichotomization based on mean centered expression levels. The Amsterdam cases (n = 68) represented young patients (all < 55 years), only 5% of whom received adjuvant TAM; gene transcripts were measured by commercial (Agilent) microarray platform, and high/low dichotomization based on positive/negative log10 gene expression ratios. The Basel cases (n = 108) represented patients of all ages (37–84 years), 70% of whom received adjuvant TAM therapy; gene transcripts were measured by quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assay, and high/low dichotomization based on median cut-point gene transcript levels. Significant differences between the cumulative survival curves were determined by Log Rank analyses (only p values < 0.05 shown).