Observations on Indian node-negative breast cancer patients: a multivariate analysis

Breast cancer histology and receptor status characterization in Asian Indian and Pakistani women in the U.S.--a SEER analysis

Background

Recent reports suggest increase in estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) negative breast cancer yet little is known about histology or receptor status of breast cancer in Indian/Pakistani women.in the U.S.

Methods

We examined the United States National Cancer Institute's Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Cancer program to assess: a) frequency of breast cancer by age, b) histologic subtypes, c) receptor status of breast cancer and, d) survival in Indians/Pakistanis compared to Caucasians. There were 360,933 breast cancer cases diagnosed 1988-2006. Chi-Square analyses and Cox proportional hazards models, to estimate relative risks for breast cancer mortality after adjusting for confounders, were performed using Statistical Analysis Software 9.2.

Results

Among Asian Indian/Pakistani breast cancer patients, 16.2% were < 40 yrs. old compared to 6.23% in Caucasians (p < 0.0001). Asian Indian women had more invasive ductal carcinoma (69.1 vs. 65.7%, p < 0.0001), inflammatory cancer (1.4% vs. 0.8, p < 0.0001) and less invasive lobular carcinoma (4.2% vs. 8.1%, p < 0.0001) than Caucasians. Asian Indian/Pakistani women had more ER/PR negative breast cancer (30.6% vs. 21.8%, p = 0.0095) than Caucasians. Adjusting for stage at diagnosis, age, tumor grade, nodal status, and histology, Asian Indian/Pakistani women's survival was similar to Caucasians, while African Americans' was worse.

Conclusions

Asian Indian/Pakistani women have higher frequency of breast cancer (particularly in age < 40), ER/PR negative invasive ductal and inflammatory cancer than Caucasians.

Prognostic factors affecting survival and disease-free survival in lymph node-negative breast carcinomas

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

The objective of this study was to identify the patients who are at low or high-risk by defining the prognostic factors in node-negative breast carcinomas.

METHODS

Medical records of 384 consecutive breast cancer patients with negative axillary lymph nodes who had been operated on between January 1994 and January 1997 at our hospital were retrospectively reviewed. Several clinical and pathological characteristics of patients were categorized. Univariate analyses of survival and disease-free survival (DFS) were performed by the Kaplan-Meier method and the log-rank test. Independent prognostic and predictive factors affecting survival and DFS were assessed by Cox proportional hazard method.

RESULTS

5-year survival and DFS were 91.4 and 85.7%, respectively. Size, grade, age, and lymphovascular invasion (LVI) were the prognostic factors that independently affected survival and DFS. Tamoxifen improved survival and DFS. While age younger than 35 was an adverse factor for both survival and DFS, age older than 49 was a detrimental factor for DFS.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients who have a tumor with size greater than 2 cm, with histologic grade 3, with LVI, and patients with age under 35 or older than 49 have poorer prognosis among node-negative breast carcinomas, and are candidates for adjuvant therapy.

Timing of surgery for primary breast cancer with regard to the menstrual phase and prognosis

The hormonal milieu of the patient at the time of surgery may influence the prognosis of patients with primary breast cancer. Circulating unopposed estrogen is perhaps detrimental, while circulating progesterone may confer a survival advantage. This hypothesis has particular relevance to the timing of surgery in relation to the menstrual cycle. After all, the first 14 days of the menstrual cycle (follicular phase) are characterized by high levels of circulating unopposed estrogen, while circulating progesterone is present during the second 14 days of the cycle (luteal phase). Several retrospective studies have shown that surgery during the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle results in a worse disease-free and overall survival. Randomized controlled trials addressing the effect of timing of surgery or neoadjuvant hormonal therapy on breast cancer mortality are urgently needed to confirm or refute the unopposed estrogen hypothesis. Such trials may provide important insights into the natural history of breast cancer, and a basis for significantly reducing breast cancer mortality.