Table 1.
Retrospective Studies on the Outcome of the Removal of the Primary Tumor in Metastatic Breast Cancer
| Studiesa | Number of patients | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Khan, Stewart, Morrow13 | 16,203 (57.2% had surgery) | 3-year survival improved from 26% to 35% |
| Carmichael et al.14 | 20 had surgery | Median survival 23 months |
| Blumenschein et al.15 | 45 had surgery | 44 months survival was 53% |
| Babiera et al.16 | 224 (82 had surgery) | Improved disease-free survival, trend toward improved overall survival |
| Rapiti17 | 300 (127 had surgery) | 40% reduced risk of death |
| Gnerlich et al.18 | 9,734 (47% had surgery) | Median survival improved from 21 months to 36 months |
| Fields et al.19 | 409 (187 had surgery) | Median survival improved from 15.4 months to 31.9 months |
| Blanchard et al.20 | 224 (82 had surgery) | Improved progression-free survival if only one site of metastasis, complete resection, and Caucasian race |
| Rao et al.21 | 295 (142 had surgery) | Median survival improved from 16.8 months to 27.1 months |
| Cady et al.4 | 622 (38% had surgery) | No correlation between surgery and survival, cited selection bias |
| Bafford et al.22 | 147 (61 had surgery) | Improved survival confounded by stage migration |
| Leung et al.23 | 204 (52 had surgery) | Survival benefit associated with chemotherapy, not surgery |
| Neuman et al.24 | 186 (69 had surgery) | Improved survival in estrogen-receptor-positive patients only |
| Le Scodan et al.25 | 581 (320 had locoregional XRT, 78% XRT only, 13% surgery only, 9% both) | 3-year survival improved from 26.7% to 43.4% |
| Petrelli, Barni26 | Meta-analysis of studies | Improved survival independent of confounding factors, directly proportional to exposure to systemic and radiotherapy, inversely correlated with estrogen-receptor status |
a
Superscript numbers in this column refer to entries in the References section of this article.
XRT, radiation therapy.