Improved breast cancer survival

Breast cancer survival has improved in the last decade. Between 1974 and 2000, women with recurrent breast cancer have experienced a significant improvement in survival.Earlier reports have shown that overall death rates due to breast cancer have declined in recent years. However, it was unclear if this trend was due to a greater proportion of patients being diagnosed at an earlier, more treatable stage or due to actual improvements in treatment. In the current study, researchers from M.D. Anderson Cancer Centre in Houston, USA assessed the survival outcomes of 834 women who had a recurrence of breast cancer between 1974 and 2000. The patients were all initially treated with chemotherapy protocols approved by the review board at the authors' institution. Based on when their cancer returned, the patients were divided into five groups: 1974-1979, 1980-1984, 1985-1989, 1990-1994, and 1995-2000. The patients were followed for around 9 years after recurrence.

They found that survival improved steadily with proportionately with the delay in onset of recurrence. With each 1-year increase in the recurrence date, the risk of death fell by 1 percent. Other factors associated with increased survival after recurrence included smaller initial tumour size, less severe disease, and limited spread to lymph nodes. Also, survival was better for cancers that tested positive for hormone binders called oestrogen receptors. These findings, although not conclusive, suggest that breast cancer survival has been improving and encourage further research to clarify whether advances in therapy have translated into improvements in survival for women with recurrent breast cancer.