BREAST CANCER SURVIAVL IMPROVING STEADILY

October 1, 2010 — A steady improvement in survival from breast cancer over the past 6 decades has been shown in a review of records from the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

The review shows a "dramatic shift in the natural history of the disease," said Aman Buzdar MD, professor of medicine and breast medical oncology at M.D. Anderson.

"If patients are appropriately managed, they have a much better chance of surviving breast cancer today than they would have had 20, 30, or even 10 years ago, because therapies are constantly evolving and improving," he added.

Dr. Buzdar was speaking last week at an American Society for Clinical Oncology presscast; the data were presented at the 2010 Breast Cancer Symposium, in Washington, DC, on October 2, 2010.

"This is an elegant review of patient records from a single institution that shows major improvements in breast cancer survival over recent years," said Jennifer Obel, MD, from the NorthShore University Health System in Evanston, Illinois, who was moderating the presscast.

Although these data come from a single institution, both Dr. Buzdar and Dr. Obel said that the improvements in survival should be generalizable to other institutions and to the community.

Review of Past 60 Years

Dr. Buzdar and colleagues examined records dating back to 1944 for nearly 57,000 breast cancer patients, of whom 12,809 had initial therapy at M.D. Anderson. Patients were divided into 3 general cancer stages — local, regional, and distant (with metastases) — and 10-year survival rates were calculated.

Improvements in survival were seen at each cancer stage, and in some cases the shift was dramatic, Dr. Buzdar noted.

For example, among women with regional breast cancer in 1944 to 1954, only 16.2% were still alive 10 years later, compared with 74% in the most recent decade (1995 to 2004) analyzed.

The improvements are due to a number of factors, Dr. Buzdar said, including earlier diagnosis and the combined modality approach to treatment, where systemic therapy is offered to women at high risk for recurrence, even though the initial presentation of the disease is local.

Ten-Year Survival Rates by Stage of Breast Cancer
Decade Local, % Regional, % Distant, % Overall survival, % (n)
1944–54 55 16 3 25 (410)
1955–64 56 24 4 30 (1449)
1965–74 59 29 5 35 (1387)
1975–84 72 47 7 49 (1983)
1985–94 79 57 11 62 (2927)
1995–2004 86 74 22 77 (4653)


These data show that only 1 in 4 women were still alive after 10 years in the 1950s, whereas 3 in 4 women in recent years were, said Dr. Obel. "Care of breast cancer patients has evolved at a rapid pace," she added.

The 2010 Breast Cancer Symposium is cosponsored by the American Society of Breast Disease, the American Society of Breast Surgeons, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Society of Radiation Oncology, the National Consortium of Breast Centers, the Society of Surgical Oncology, and Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

2010 Breast Cancer Symposium: Abstract 172. Presented October 2, 2010.