The patient group with breast carcinoma with one to three axillary lymph-node metastases (n1-3) shows a poorer prognosis than the node-negative one but a better prognosis than the group with 4 or more lymph node metastases. Univariate analysis shows that loss of bc1-2 expression, nuclear accumulation of p53, overexpression of c-erbB-2, age at diagnosis, menstrual status, tumor size, histologic grade, number of lymph nodes involved, and estrogen receptor were all significantly associated with the survival rates. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that menstrual status, number of involved lymph nodes, bc1-2, and p53 were significant predictors for overall survival, and that histological grade and number of nodes involved were significant predictors for disease-free survival. Combination of those factors would be useful to select highly aggressive n1-3 breast cancer group.