OBJECTIVES:
* Evaluate a selected panel of molecular markers in tissue specimens from Native American women with breast cancer.
* Determine which molecular markers provide independent prognostic information with respect to traditional prognostic factors in these patients.
* Compare and contrast the prevalence of positivity in Native American women with breast cancer with an age- and stage-matched cohort of Caucasian women with breast cancer enrolled on clinical trial NCCTG-77-30-51 or the Mayo Breast Cancer Registry.
OUTLINE: Immunohistochemistry is performed on tumor samples to analyze the following molecular markers: estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, c-erbB2, p53, Ki-67, Bcl-2, Bax, cyclin D-1, and insulin-like growth factor-1R.
