Breast Cancer Patients Still Face Risk
Posted on: Wednesday, 13 August 2008, 21:00 CDT
Breast cancer survivors may still have a substantial risk of disease recurrence five years after treatment, Houston researchers warn.
The study, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, said among breast cancer patients who were cancer-free five years after initiating systemic therapy, 89 percent remained recurrence-free at five years -- about 10 years after a woman's initial diagnosis -- and 80 percent remained recurrence free at 10 years -- about 15 years after diagnosis.
Dr. Abenaa Brewster of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and colleagues examined the recurrence rate in 2,838 breast cancer patients treated between 1985 and 2001. To determine the magnitude of residual risk following adjuvant therapy, which might include five years of hormone therapy, the researchers looked at what happened to the women five years after the start of treatment.
After a median follow-up period of 28 months, 216 women had their cancer return. The five-year risk of relapse for women with Stage I disease was 7 percent, 11 percent for women with Stage II disease, and 13 percent for women with Stage III disease. Tumor grade, hormone receptor status and endocrine therapy were all statistically significantly associated with risk of recurrence.
Source: United Press International
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