Abstract
The data for this study, consisting of 300 females treated for breast cancer in 1951-1961, were evaluated in order to ascertain when excess mortality from breast cancer disappears and what would be an appropriate follow-up period for investigational purposes. The clinical stages of the patients were classified as follows: 23.3%, stage I; 49%, stage II; 20.3%, stage III and 7.3%, stage IV. Halsted's radical mastectomy was performed in 79.7% of the cases. Every patient was given radiotherapy. Two hundred and ninety-eight patients could be followed until death or up to the present. Forty-five patients (16%) were still alive. The survival rate over a 20-year period for the various stages was as follows: stage I, 46.1%; stage II, 22.7% and stage III, 10.9%. Only 26% of the patients with stage I died of breast cancer, while the respective figures for stage II were 57% and stage III, 70%. The death rate from the cancer diminished with time in every stage especially 10 years after primary treatment. After this the observed survival rate curves were almost parallel with the expected curves. Our data show that for follow-up studies a 5-year follow-up is good and a 10-year follow-up is very good to show the trend in the treatment of breast cancer.
Full text
PDF
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Bedwani R., Vana J., Rosner D., Schmitz R. L., Murphy G. P. Management and survival of female patients with "minimal" breast cancer: as observed in the long-term and short-term surveys of the American College of Surgeons. Cancer. 1981 Jun 15;47(12):2769–2778. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(19810615)47:12<2769::aid-cncr2820471202>3.0.co;2-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Blackwood J. M., Seelig R. F., Hutter R. V., Rush B. F., Jr Survival distribution in breast cancer. Surgery. 1977 Oct;82(4):443–447. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Brinkley D., Haybrittle J. L. The curability of breast cancer. Lancet. 1975 Jul 19;2(7925):95–97. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(75)90003-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Fisher B., Redmond C., Fisher E. R., Bauer M., Wolmark N., Wickerham D. L., Deutsch M., Montague E., Margolese R., Foster R. Ten-year results of a randomized clinical trial comparing radical mastectomy and total mastectomy with or without radiation. N Engl J Med. 1985 Mar 14;312(11):674–681. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198503143121102. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Frazier T. G., Copeland E. M., Gallager H. S., Paulus D. D., Jr, White E. C. Prognosis and treatment in minimal breast cancer. Am J Surg. 1977 Jun;133(6):697–701. doi: 10.1016/0002-9610(77)90156-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Hakulinen T., Pukkala E., Hakama M., Lehtonen M., Saxén E., Teppo L. Syöpäpotilaiden eloonjäminen suomessa 1953--74. Duodecim. 1982;98(7):550–562. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Horton J. Follow-up of breast cancer patients. Cancer. 1984 Feb 1;53(3 Suppl):790–797. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(19840201)53:3+<790::aid-cncr2820531330>3.0.co;2-f. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Muir R. W., White J. W. Carcinoma of the breast. Arch Surg. 1967 Aug;95(2):170–174. doi: 10.1001/archsurg.1967.01330140008002. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Nikkanen V., Linna M., Toikkanen S. Treatment results in mammary carcinoma stages I-IV. Acta Radiol Oncol. 1981;20(1):9–18. doi: 10.3109/02841868109130184. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Peltokallio P., Kalima T., Frilander M. Results of breast cancer treatment. Acta Chir Scand. 1969;135(7):585–590. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Schottenfeld D., Nash A. G., Robbins G. F., Beattie E. J., Jr Ten-year results of the treatment of primary operable breast carcinoma: A summary of 304 patients evaluated by the TNM system. Cancer. 1976 Aug;38(2):1001–1007. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(197608)38:2<1001::aid-cncr2820380252>3.0.co;2-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Strax P. Evaluation of screening programs for the early diagnosis of breast cancer. Surg Clin North Am. 1978 Aug;58(4):667–679. doi: 10.1016/s0039-6109(16)41580-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]