The fight against breast cancer is expected to be effectively stimulated by interdisciplinary approaches and cross-fertilization between laboratory and clinical research findings. Of major importance are therefore meetings promoting fast transfer to clinical applications of findings by basic scientists. The present volume, reporting the proceedings of the 1991 Biennial Conference of the International Association for Breast Cancer Research, hopes to achieve this goal by presenting the most recent observations in the laboratory and their possible applications for diagnostic evaluations and clinical treatments. The sections of the book focus first on the oncogenes more likely involved in mammary tumorigenesis and on the polypeptide factors and steroid hormones affecting proliferation and possibly inducing carcinogenesis in breast epithelium. A section is devoted to the epidemiological studies and to the identification of risk factors, a way to select populations at higher risk and, possibly, to help in preventing the disease. Special emphasis is given to the establishment of diagnostic criteria and to the selection of prognostic factors, which must support an effective therapeutic planning. It is our hope that this volume, a timely update of the most recent advances in specific fields presented by basic scientists, pathologists and clinicians will stimulate new insights and progresses leading ultimately to the control of breast cancer.

I. Activation of Cellular Oncogenes.- 1. The Role of Oncogenes and Onco-Suppressor Genes in Human Breast Cancer.- 2. Expression of the MET Oncogene in Human Tumors.- 3. c-erbB-2, a Tyrosine Kinase Growth Factor Receptor and its Role in Breast Cancer.- 4. Mammary Morphogenesis and Oncogenes.- II. Polypeptides and Growth Factors Expression.- 5. Interdependence of Hormones and Growth Factors in Lobulo-Alveolar Development of the Mammary Gland and Tumorigenesis.- 6. The Role of Estrogen Regulated Secreted Proteins for Growth Regulation of Human Breast Cancer.- 7. The Prolactin-lnducible Protein / Gross Cystic Disease Fluid Protein (PIP/GCDFP-15): Genetic Analysis and Hormonal Regulation of Gene Expression.- III. Mammary Epithelium and Stroma in Vivo and in Vitro.- 8. Role of RAS Oncogene in Human Breast Cancer: an Experimental Approach.- 9. Interactions Between Malignant and Non-Malignant Components of the Breast.- 10. Involvement of Heparanase and Extracellular Matrix-Bound Fibroblast Growth Factor in Tumor Progression.- IV. Hormone Responsiveness and Oral Contraceptives.- 11. Estrogen and Progesterone Receptor Activity in Breast Cancer Cells.- 12. Oral Contraceptives and Breast Cancer: the Scope for a Hypothesis-Oriented Approach.- V. Risk Factors; Monitoring of Breast Cancer Progression and Regression.- 13. Benign Breast Disease: Links to Risk of Cancer.- 14. Proliferation Rate in Different Cell Types in Benign Breast Disease.- 15. Aspects of Cell Mediated Immunity in Monitoring Breast Cancer.- 16. New Approaches to the Study of Selenium's Chemopreventive Properties.- VI. Biological Factors of Prognosis; the Metastatic Phenotype.- 17. Cell Kinetics as an Indicator for Prognosis and Therapy.- 18. Cathepsin D and Breast Cancer Metastasis: Biological and ClinicalSignificance.- 19. Diagnostic tools and prognostic factors in human breast cancer evaluated by morphological and immunohistochemical methods.- VII.Therapeutic Strategies in Breast Cancer Treatment.- 20. Oestrogen-Deprivation in Breast Cancer: Clinical and Experimental Observations.- 21. Polyamines and Growth Factors as Possible Targets for Antitumor Therapy in Breast Cancer.- 22. New Diagnostic Methods and Treatment Modalities in Breast Cancer.