It was suggested that TNM staging, SLN metastasis, and expression levels of HER-2 and PR were independent factors affecting the DFS of patients with breast cancer (all P<0.05), and that TNM staging, blood vessel invasion, histological grade, SLN metastasis, and ER expression level were independent factors influencing the OS of patients with breast cancer (Table 4). This evidence concerns the gene PGR and breast cancer.