By two-color fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), der(16)t(1;16) or der(1;16) was frequently detected in low-grade papillary carcinoma but not in benign intraductal papilloma of the breast. In order to clarify the incidence and clinicopathological significance of der(16)t(1;16)/der(1;16) in common breast cancers, der(16)t(1;16)/der(1;16) was examined by two-color FISH in breast cancers resected from 51 patients by using DNA probes for 16cen, 16q11.2, and 1q12 labeled with biotin or digoxigenin. der(16)t(1;16)/der(1;16) was clonally detected in 16 cancers (31%), being more frequent in ductal carcinomas of lower grade and invasive lobular carcinoma than in high-grade invasive ductal carcinoma (P<0.001). der(16)t(1;16)/der(1;16) was also correlated with a higher amount of hormone receptors in the tumor (P<0.05). Disease-free and overall survival rates of the patient group with der(16)t(1;16)/der(1;16)-positive cancer were higher (88% and 94%) than those of the group with der(16)t(1;16)/der(1; 16)-negative cancer (39% and 68%) (P<0.05). Among the 16 patients with lymph node metastasis who received one of two similar forms of postsurgical adjuvant chemo-endocrine therapy, the prognosis of those with der(16)t(1;16)/der(1;16)-positive cancer was better than that of those with der(16)t(1;16)/der(1;16)-negative cancer (P<0.05). der(16)t(1;16)/der(1;16) detected by FISH is considered helpful in identifying patients with a better prognosis and for stratification of patients in randomized clinical trials of adjuvant chemo-endocrine therapies.