Competing causes of death for primary breast cancer

Competing risks of death in women treated with adjuvant aromatase inhibitors for early breast cancer on NCIC CTG MA.27

Baseline patient and tumor characteristics differentially affected type of death in the MA.17 placebo-controlled letrozole trial where cardiovascular death was not separately identified. The MA.27 trial allowed competing risks analysis of breast cancer (BC), cardiovascular, and other type (OT) of death. MA.27 was a phase III adjuvant breast cancer trial of exemestane versus anastrozole. Effects of baseline patient and tumor characteristics were tested for whether factors were associated with (1) all cause mortality and (2) cause-specific mortality. We also fit step-wise forward cause-specific-adjusted models. 7576 women (median age 64 years; 5417 (72 %) < 70 years and 2159 (28 %) ≥ 70 years) were enrolled and followed for median 4.1 years. The 432 deaths comprised 187 (43 %) BC, 66 (15 %) cardiovascular, and 179 (41 %) OT. Five baseline factors were differentially associated with type of death. Older patients had greater BC (p = 0.03), cardiovascular (p < 0.001), and other types (p < 0.001) of mortality. Patients with pre-existing cardiovascular history had worse cardiovascular mortality (p < 0.001); those with worse ECOG performance status had worse OT mortality (p < 0.001). Patients with T1 tumors (p < 0.001) and progesterone receptor positive had less BC mortality (p < 0.001). Fewer BC deaths occurred with node-negative disease (p < 0.001), estrogen receptor-positive tumors (p = 0.001), and without adjuvant chemotherapy (p = 0.005); worse cardiovascular mortality (p = 0.01), with trastuzumab; worse OT mortality, for non-whites (p = 0.03) and without adjuvant radiotherapy (p = 0.003). Overall, 57 % of deaths in MA.27 AI-treated patients were non-breast cancer related. Baseline patient and tumor characteristics differentially affected type of death with women 70 or older experiencing more non-breast cancer death.

Novel treatment strategies for brain tumors and metastases

This review summarizes patent applications in the past 5 years for the management of brain tumors and metastases. Most of the recent patents discuss one of the following strategies: the development of new drug entities that specifically target the brain cells, the blood-brain barrier and the tumor cells, tailor-designing a novel carrier system that is able to perform multitasks and multifunction as a drug carrier, targeting vehicle and even as a diagnostic tool, direct conjugation of a US FDA approved drug with a targeting moiety, diagnostic moiety or PK modifying moiety, or the use of innovative nontraditional approaches such as genetic engineering, stem cells and vaccinations. Until now, there has been no optimal strategy to deliver therapeutic agents to the CNS for the treatment of brain tumors and metastases. Intensive research efforts are actively ongoing to take brain tumor targeting, and novel and targeted CNS delivery systems to potential clinical application.

Survivorship--competing mortalities, morbidities, and second malignancies

Mortality of head and neck cancer has declined in the United States over the past 20 years. This improvement has been linked to use of multimodality treatment of advanced disease. Despite this improvement, disease-specific survival remains low. Patients who survive head and neck cancer are exposed to morbidity and mortality secondary to the same factors as the general population. Factors related to cancer and cancer treatment predispose them to increased risk of mortality. Improvements in head and neck cancer treatment have led to a scenario where an increasing proportion of patients die from causes other than the primary cancer, called competing mortalities.

Adjuvant Radiation and Outcomes After Breast Conserving Surgery in Publicly Insured Patients

OBJECTIVES: Epidemiologic studies report that lack of adjuvant radiation (RT) after breast conserving surgery (BCS) is associated with higher short-term mortality. It is generally accepted that adjuvant RT decreases risk of breast cancer recurrence and thereby lowers long-term mortality; here, we explore reasons for its relationship to short-term mortality. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We studied 1,583 publically insured women who had BCS between 1998 and 2002 (mean 71.8 years, range 27-101), of whom 1,346 (85%) received RT. Multivariate analyses with Cox Proportional Hazards and Logistic Regression models included: age; race; comorbidity; insurance status; tumor size; number of nodes positive; hormone receptor status; receipt of radiation; adjuvant chemotherapy; preventive care - including mammography, Pap smear and primary care visits; and hospitalization. RESULTS: At a mean follow-up of 52.8 months, overall mortality was significantly lower in those who received RT (HR 0.45, p<0.0001) and higher with older age (HR 1.05, p<0.0001) and greater comorbidity (HR 1.16, p=0.0007). Local recurrence was less with receipt of optimal radiation (HR 0.47; p=0.03). Breast cancer event, as determined by a clinically logical algorithm to detect breast cancer recurrence and death, however, was not significantly associated with receipt of RT (OR 1.32, p=0.2). CONCLUSION: These results imply that the higher short-term mortality in women not receiving RT after BCS is related to factors other than breast cancer recurrence.

Cardiovascular disease competes with breast cancer as the leading cause of death for older females diagnosed with breast cancer: a retrospective cohort study

Introduction

Many women who survive breast cancer die of causes unrelated to their cancer diagnosis. This study was undertaken to assess factors that are related to breast cancer mortality versus mortality from other causes and to describe the leading causes of death among older women diagnosed with breast cancer.

Methods

Women diagnosed with breast cancer at age 66 or older between 1992 and 2000 were identified in the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results-Medicare linked database and followed through the end of 2005.

Results

A total of 63,566 women diagnosed with breast cancer met the inclusion criteria and were followed for a median of approximately nine years. Almost one-half (48.7%) were alive at the end of follow-up. Ages and comorbidities at the time of diagnosis had the largest effects on mortality from other causes, while tumor stage, tumor grade, estrogen receptor status, age and comorbidities at the time of diagnosis all had effects on breast cancer-specific mortality. Fully adjusted relative hazards of the effects of comorbidities on breast cancer-specific mortality were 1.24 (95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.13 to 1.26) for cardiovascular disease, 1.13 (95% CI 1.13 to 1.26) for previous cancer, 1.13 (95% CI 1.05 to 1.22) for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and 1.10 (95% CI 1.03 to 1.16) for diabetes. Among the total study population, cardiovascular disease was the primary cause of death in the study population (15.9% (95% CI 15.6 to 16.2)), followed closely by breast cancer (15.1% (95% CI 14.8 to 15.4)).

Conclusions

Comorbid conditions contribute importantly to both total mortality and breast cancer-specific mortality among breast cancer survivors. Attention to reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease should be a priority for the long-term care of women following the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer.

Timing of breast surgery in premenopausal breast cancer patients

BACKGROUND

The majority of women diagnosed with breast cancer undergo a multidisciplinary treatment with surgical intervention and radiotherapy or chemotherapy, or both. The importance of timing of tumour removal in relation to the menstrual cycle and its influence on disease-free survival and overall survival has been studied by researchers since 1989 but still remains speculative.

OBJECTIVES

To determine if surgery performed either during the follicular or luteal phase of the menstrual cycle affects the overall and disease-free survival of premenopausal breast cancer patients.

SEARCH STRATEGY

We searched the Cochrane Breast Cancer Group Trials Register (January 2009), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library 2009, Issue 1), MEDLINE (1966 to January 2009), EMBASE (1974 to September 2006) and the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP) search portal (July 2010). We checked references of articles and communicated with authors.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing breast surgery during the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle with the luteal phase in premenopausal women. Prospective non-RCTs or observational studies were considered if randomised studies were lacking.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Three authors independently extracted data and assessed trial quality.

MAIN RESULTS

Completed randomised trials were not found. There is one trial that is currently ongoing in Italy; the results have yet to be published.Two prospective observational studies had data on recurrence-free survival. One study reported an odds ratio for recurrence rate at one year (where > 1 favours the luteal phase) of 0.86 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.69 to 1.08); 0.87 at two years (95% CI 0.69 to 1.09); 0.95 at three years (95% CI 0.75 to 1.21); 1.12 at four years (95% CI 0.87 to 1.43); and 1.12 at five years (95% CI 0.87 to 1.43). Another study reported a hazard ratio for overall survival of 1.02 (95% CI 0.995 to 1.04, P = 0.14) and for disease-free survival of 1.00 (95% CI 0.98 to 1.02, P = 0.92) at three years based on the last and first menstrual period. The results were not significant. There was no difference in the recurrence rate whether the surgery was done during the follicular or luteal phase of the menstrual cycle.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

In the absence of RCTs, this review provides evidence from large prospective observational studies that timing of surgery does not show a significant effect on survival.

Recent advances and current controversies in the management of DCIS of the breast

Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is commonly diagnosed today, mainly due to widespread use of screening mammography. Despite a better understanding of its biological behavior, many issues regarding its optimal management remain controversial. The biological behavior of DCIS has been associated with distinct molecular and histological features (such as expression of COX2, Ki67, c-erbB2, p53 mutation, presence or absence of comedonecrosis, nuclear grade, hormone receptor status, etc.). Recent advances in the diagnosis of DCIS include using magnetic resonance imaging, and the use of stereotactic-guided directional vacuum-assisted biopsy (DVAB). Ductoscopy and ductal lavage have a limited role in the management of DCIS. Surgical treatment of DCIS includes simple local excision to various forms of wider excision (segmental resection or quadrantectomy), or even mastectomy (either simple or skin-sparing). Radiotherapy following breast-conserving surgery significantly reduces local recurrence rates. Axillary lymph node dissection is not required for the management of DCIS; however, during the last decade, sentinel lymph node biopsy is increasingly used to exclude the presence of axillary metastases (when invasive disease is present within the DCIS). This approach has many advantages (including the avoidance of a second surgery if invasive disease is diagnosed within the DCIS) and should be considered when there is an increased probability for the presence of invasive breast cancer within the DCIS. The role of other minimally invasive methods (such as the "therapeutic" application of the DVAB technique, radiofrequency ablation, laser therapy, cryotherapy and brachytherapy) in the management of small DCIS remains unproven. Tamoxifen should be considered in the management of selected patients with DCIS, such as patients with hormone receptor positive DCIS, young patients, and patients without risk factors for potential side effects. Additionally, and controversial, there is evidence that aromatase inhibitors may be better than tamoxifen in the management of DCIS.

Dying with cancer: the influence of age, comorbidity, and cancer site

BACKGROUND

Cancer survival is influenced by age, comorbidity, and type of cancer. A population-based study was conducted to compare the interplay between age and mortality for different cancers.

METHODS

This study analyzed 784,378 cases, comprising 22 of the commonest SEER cancers diagnosed between 1984 and 1993. Competing hazards and proportional hazard analyses for cancer-specific and comorbid death were performed.

RESULTS

Median follow-up was up to 159 months, and the median age of diagnosis was 67 years. Cancer-specific and comorbid deaths accumulated most within the first years of diagnosis. With the more biologically aggressive cancers, cancer deaths invariably exceeded comorbid deaths. For the remaining 70% of cancers, comorbidity remained the dominant mode of death. Deaths attributable to both cancer and comorbidity accumulated mostly after the seventh decade of life. Cancer site had a 3-fold greater effect on overall survival than age at diagnosis and a 30-fold effect with cancer-specific survival; age at diagnosis had a 5-fold greater effect on comorbid deaths than site.

CONCLUSIONS

Both the age of the affected individual and the biology of the particular cancer have major influences on cancer survival and mode of death. Cancer is largely a disease of the elderly. Within affected individuals, fatalities attributable to cancer and comorbidity appeared inter-related, with cancer-specific deaths dominating for more lethal cancers and comorbid deaths dominating for the remaining majority. For these reasons, further improvements in overall survival may be best anticipated from better geriatric and general medical management as much as from better cancer management.

Competing causes of death for women with breast cancer and change over time from 1975 to 2003

This study was to determine whether the proportion of death due to breast cancer changed over time in different cohorts of women diagnosed with breast cancer. We identified 316,149 women with breast cancer at age 20 or older during 1975-2003 from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results 9 tumor registries in the United States. Logistic regression models were used to assess the effects of time period on the likelihood of dying because of breast cancer as underlying cause of death, adjusting for other factors. Overall, underlying cause of death was 52.8% due to breast cancer, 17.8% due to heart disease, and 4.9% due to stroke. Percentage of death due to breast cancer did not change significantly from 1975 to 2003 in those who died < 12 months after diagnosis, but decreased significantly in women who died between 1 and 15 years. Risk of death due to breast cancer in women diagnosed during 1995-1998 was significantly lower than those in 1975-1979 (odds ratio = 0.79, 95% confidence interval = 0.70-0.89), after adjusting for age, race, ethnicity, and tumor stage. Percentage of death due to breast cancer decreased significantly with age from 87.5% in women < 40% to 30.7% in those 80 or older, which was not significantly affected by year of diagnosis. Proportion of death due to breast cancer increased with advanced tumor stage and was similar in various racial/ethnic groups of population. The findings demonstrated that the impact of breast cancer on overall death was reduced after 1 year of diagnosis, but suggested the need for continued cancer surveillance.

Competing causes of death from a randomized trial of extended adjuvant endocrine therapy for breast cancer

BACKGROUND

Older women with early-stage breast cancer experience higher rates of non-breast cancer-related death. We examined factors associated with cause-specific death in a large cohort of breast cancer patients treated with extended adjuvant endocrine therapy.

METHODS

In the MA.17 trial, conducted by the National Cancer Institute of Canada Clinical Trials Group, 5170 breast cancer patients (median age = 62 years; range = 32-94 years) who were disease free after approximately 5 years of adjuvant tamoxifen treatment were randomly assigned to treatment with letrozole (2583 women) or placebo (2587 women). The median follow-up was 3.9 years (range 0-7 years). We investigated the association of 11 baseline factors with the competing risks of death from breast cancer, other malignancies, and other causes. All statistical tests were two-sided likelihood ratio criterion tests.

RESULTS

During follow-up, 256 deaths were reported (102 from breast cancer, 50 from other malignancies, 100 from other causes, and four from an unknown cause). Non-breast cancer deaths accounted for 60% of the 252 known deaths (72% for those > or = 70 years and 48% for those < 70 years). Two baseline factors were differentially associated with type of death: cardiovascular disease was associated with a statistically significant increased risk of death from other causes (P.002), and osteoporosis was associated with a statistically significant increased risk of death from other malignancies (P.05). An increased risk of breast cancer-specific death was associated with lymph node involvement (P < .001). Increased risk of death from all three causes was associated with older age (P < .001).

CONCLUSIONS

Non-breast cancer-related deaths were more common than breast cancer-specific deaths in this cohort of 5-year breast cancer survivors, especially among older women.

Ascertaining prognosis for breast cancer in node-negative patients with innovative survival analysis

Clinical decisions to administer adjuvant systemic therapy to women with early breast cancer require knowledge about baseline prognosis, which is only assessable in the absence of such adjuvant treatment, which most patients currently do receive. The Cox model is the standard tool for assessing the effect of prognostic factors; however, there may be substantive differences in the estimated prognosis obtained by the Cox model rather than a log-normal model. For more than 50 years, clinical breast cancer data for cohorts of patients have supported the choice of a log-normal model. The prognostic impact of model type is examined here for a cohort of breast cancer patients, only 7% of whom received adjuvant systemic therapy. We quantitated prognosis utilizing Kaplan-Meier, Cox, and log-normal survival analyses for 415 consecutive T1-T3, M0, histologically node-negative patients who were operated on for primary breast cancer at Women's College Hospital between 1977 and 1986. Recurrence outside the breast for disease-free interval (DFI) and breast cancer death for disease-specific survival (DSS) were the events of interest. The patient follow-up for these investigations was 96% complete: a median 8 years for those surviving. Factors used in these investigations were age, weight, tumor size, histology, tumor grade, nuclear grade, lymphovascular invasion, estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), combined ER/PR receptor, overexpression of neu oncoprotein, DNA ploidy, S-phase, and adjuvant therapy. In our study we found evidence against the Cox assumption of proportional hazards, which is not an assumption for the log-normal approach. We identified patients with greater than 96% and others with less than 40% DSS at 10 years. The difference in prognosis determined by using the Cox versus the log-normal model ranged for DFI from 1.2% to 8.1%, and for DSS from 0.4% to 6.2%; interestingly, the difference was more substantial for patients with a high risk of recurrence or death from breast cancer. Estimated prognoses may differ substantially by survival analysis model type, by amounts that might affect patient management, and we think that the log-normal model has a major advantage over the Cox model for survival analysis.

Prognostic factors affecting the natural history of node-negative breast cancer

PURPOSE

We undertook a natural history investigation of a broad selection of prognostic factors in a cohort of women with node-negative breast cancer.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The cohort consisted of 415 consecutive histologic node-negative (T1-3, M0) patients, operated on for primary breast cancer at Women's College Hospital, Toronto, Canada, between 1977 and 1986. Only 7% of these patients were given adjuvant systemic therapy; further, for the 48% of women who underwent lumpectomy, only 29% received adjuvant radiotherapy to the breast. Paraffin-embedded tumour tissue was available for the majority of patients. The following factors were examined for their univariate and multivariate effects on time to recurrence outside the breast (DFI) and survival from breast cancer (DSS): age, weight, tumour size, estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, histologic type, tumour grade, nuclear grade, lymphovascular invasion, overexpression of neu oncoprotein, DNA ploidy, % cells in S-phase, and adjuvant therapy. Multivariate analyses utilized a Cox model with a step-wise factor selection for the 260 patients with complete information.

RESULTS

A worse prognosis was indicated when there was lymphovascular invasion (for DFI, p < 0.001; for DSS, p = 0.0046), high %S-phase (for DFI, p = 0.08; for DSS, p = 0.02), high tumour grade (for DFI, p = 0.02; for DSS, p = 0.03), and overexpression of neu oncoprotein (for DSS, p = 0.07).

CONCLUSIONS

In our natural history investigation, two factors, lymphovascular invasion and tumour grade, are of particular interest since they may be readily incorporated into clinical practice. Overexpression of neu oncoprotein may also play a role in determining prognosis for women administered adjuvant systemic therapy.

Competing causes of death and second primary tumors in patients with locoregionally advanced head and neck cancer treated with chemoradiotherapy

PURPOSE

The purpose of this retrospective analysis was to evaluate the emergence of second primary malignancies and the contribution of different causes of death to the outcome of patients with locoregionally advanced head and cancer receiving primary chemoradiotherapy.

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

We studied 324 patients with stage IV squamous cell head and neck cancer who were enrolled on five consecutive multicenter Phase II studies of concurrent chemoradiotherapy. All of the regimens included concurrent 5-fluorouracil and hydroxyurea on an alternate week schedule with radiotherapy, either alone (FHX) or with cisplatin (C-FHX) or paclitaxel (T-FHX). The cumulative incidence of second primary tumors or death from any cause was estimated using methods of competing risk analysis.

RESULTS

Median follow-up of surviving patients was 5.2 years (2-10.6 years). The 5-year overall survival and progression-free survival of the cohort were 46% and 65%, respectively. Causes of death and median time of occurrence were as follows: disease (n = 88; 1.5 years), treatment-associated acute or late complications (n = 30; 4 months), second primary tumors (n = 18; 3.5 years), comorbidities (n = 41; 1.9 years), and unknown (n = 20; 5.1 years). Predominant causes of death from comorbidities were cardiac and respiratory illnesses. Twenty-six patients (8%) developed a second primary tumor at a median time of 2.8 years (4 months to 10 years). The cumulative incidence of second primary tumors was 5%, 7%, and 13% at 3, 5, and 10 years, respectively. The most frequent site of second primaries was the lung (n = 13), followed by the esophagus (n = 3) and head and neck (n = 2)

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with locoregionally advanced head and neck cancer treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy are potentially curable but face significant risks of mortality from causes other than disease progression. Ameliorating toxicity, and implementing secondary screening and chemoprevention strategies are major goals in the management of head and neck cancer.

Probabilities of death from breast cancer and other causes among female breast cancer patients

BACKGROUND

Among cancer patients, probabilities of death from that cancer and other causes in the presence of competing risks are optimal measures of prognosis and of mortality across demographic groups. We used data on breast cancer patients from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program in a competing-risk analysis.

METHODS

We determined vital status and cause of death for 395,251 white and 35,259 black female patients with breast cancer diagnosed from January 1, 1973, through December 31, 2000, by use of SEER data. We calculated probabilities of death from breast cancer and other causes according to stage, race, and age at diagnosis; for cases diagnosed from January 1, 1990, to December 31, 2000, we also calculated some such probabilities according to tumor size and estrogen receptor (ER) status. All statistical tests were two-sided.

RESULTS

The probability of death from breast cancer after nearly 28 years of follow-up ranged from 0.03 to 0.10 for patients with in situ disease to 0.70 to 0.85 for patients with distant disease, depending on race and age. The probability of death from breast cancer at the end of the follow-up period generally declined with age at diagnosis; the probability among the oldest (> or =70 years) compared with the youngest (<50 years) patients was 33% lower for white and 46% lower for black patients with localized disease and 14% lower for white patients and 13% lower for black patients with distant disease. The probability of death from breast cancer exceeded that from all other causes for patients diagnosed with localized disease before age 50 years, with regional disease before age 60 years, and with distant disease at any age. The probability of death from breast cancer for patients diagnosed with localized or regional disease was statistically significantly greater in black patients than in white patients (all six P values < or =.01 for age groups 30-49 to 60-69 years; two P values < or =.04 for ages > or =70 years). Among patients with localized or regional disease and known ER status, the probability of death from breast cancer after nearly 11 years of follow-up ranged from 0.04 to 0.11 for patients with localized ER-positive tumors of 2 cm or less to 0.37 to 0.53 for patients with regional ER-negative tumors.

CONCLUSIONS

The probability of death from breast cancer versus other causes varied substantially according to stage, tumor size, ER status, and age at diagnosis in both white and black patients.

Older women with breast carcinoma are less likely to receive adjuvant chemotherapy: evidence of possible age bias?

BACKGROUND

Older women with breast carcinoma are less likely than younger women to receive adjuvant chemotherapy. The authors hypothesized that after controlling for confounders (i.e., variables related to both age and chemotherapy use) and effect modifiers (i.e., variables that have a significant interaction with age), age would become a less significant factor for predicting adjuvant chemotherapy use.

METHODS

Data on 480 women with localized breast carcinoma were entered into the National Comprehensive Cancer Network database at The Ohio State University Medical Center. Women were divided into 3 groups: women age < 50 years (n = 143 [30%]), women ages 50-65 years (n = 216 [45%]), and women age > 65 years (n = 121 [25%]). Chi-square and Wilcoxon rank sum tests were used for univariate analyses of the variables of interest, and logistic regression was used for multivariate analyses.

RESULTS

After adjustment for confounders (stage, tumor size, progesterone receptor status, and lymph node involvement) and effect modifiers (namely, estrogen receptor [ER] status), the odds of not receiving chemotherapy for women ages 50-65 years and women age > 65 years with ER-positive breast carcinoma were approximately 6 (odds ratio [OR], 6.4; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.1-13.3; P < 0.001) and 62 (OR, 62.4; 95% CI, 21.8-178.7; P < 0.001) times greater, respectively, than the odds for women age < 50 years. Women ages 50-65 years with ER-negative breast carcinoma were not significantly different from women age < 50 years with respect to chemotherapy use (OR, 1.9; 95% CI, 0.5-7.3; P = 0.374). However, the odds of not receiving chemotherapy for women age > 65 years with ER-negative breast carcinoma were 7 times (OR, 6.7; 95% CI, 1.5-30.6; P = 0.013) greater than the odds for women age < 50 years.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of the current study indicate that based on older age alone, women are less likely to receive adjuvant chemotherapy. In addition, the results suggest that age bias may contribute to undertreatment and lack of accrual of older women into clinical trials.

Survival from primary breast cancer after routine clinical use of mammography

Clinical trials indicate that mammography provides a substantial breast cancer survival benefit; however, there is a need to demonstrate that this benefit extends to clinical practice and to determine the extent that current reductions in mortality are attributable to regular screening or adjuvant systemic therapy. Mammography was used routinely at our institution across a broad age range, in an era when most patients received no adjuvant systemic therapy. We examined breast cancer survival for a cohort of 678 stage I-III primary invasive breast cancer patients accrued from 1971 to 1990, and followed to 1996; 18% received adjuvant hormonal therapy and 15% received adjuvant chemotherapy. There were 61 women less than 40 years old; 136, 40-49 years; 341, 50-69 years; 140, > or =70 years. Factors available for multivariate investigations were age (years), tumor size (cm), nodal status (N-, Nx, N+), ER (fmol/mg protein), PgR (fmol/mg protein), adjuvant radiotherapy (no, yes), adjuvant hormonal therapy (no, yes), and adjuvant chemotherapy (no, yes). Forward stepwise multivariate regression with log-normal survival analysis was used to examine the effects of these factors on disease-specific survival. Ten-year survival by tumor size was adjusted for the effects of other significant factors. For women less than 40 years of age, 10-year survival at the T1a, T1b, T1c, and T2 cut-points for tumor size is, respectively, 0.77, 0.74, 0.67, 0.44; for 40-49 years it is 0.92, 0.90, 0.85, 0.62; for 50-69 years it is 0.81, 0.79, 0.75, 0.62; for > or =70 years it is 0.84, 0.81, 0.73, 0.44. With routine use of clinical mammography and up to 26 years of follow-up, we found breast cancer survival to be significantly better (p< or = 0.05) for all women with smaller tumors and that survival indicated a change in natural disease history with early detection. The Canadian National Breast Screening Study (NBSS) controls had significantly smaller tumors (p < 0.001) than our patients, which may indicate access to mammography outside of the NBSS that reduced the apparent survival benefit for clinical trial mammography.

Surveillance mammography after treatment of primary breast cancer: a systematic review

As the prevalence of diagnosed breast cancer increases, it is important to define how best to provide long-term follow-up. Whereas many aspects of follow-up remain controversial, guidelines recommend surveillance mammograms as the only investigation to be performed routinely. We conducted a systematic review of the literature to elucidate the effect of routine surveillance mammograms on detecting ipsilateral recurrence (IR) and contralateral breast cancers (CBC). The systematic review yielded 15 articles. All were observational studies and ranked as level II-2 or III evidence. There were no randomized controlled trials identified. Most of the ten studies on detection of IR did not report on outcomes after detection. When reported, most studies found that the method of detection of IR did not influence overall survival or disease-free survival. Two of the nine studies on detection of CBC found that the CBC was detected at an earlier stage than the initial breast cancer, but did not report on long-term outcomes. This systematic review highlights the need for further research to help better define the optimum surveillance mammography regimen.

Survival of breast cancer patients in Connecticut in relation to socioeconomic and health care access indicators

The purpose of this study of 16,931 black and white Connecticut women diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in 1988-1995 was to examine survival in relation to surrogate or proxy indicators of both socioeconomic status (SES) and access to primary care. Patients were followed through 1998, and the risk of death was elevated for the lowest (vs. highest) SES category independent of stage at diagnosis and other characteristics, especially among patients diagnosed before age 65 years. The health care access indicator was not associated with risk of death when other patient characteristics (including the SES variable and stage at diagnosis) were taken into account. Unexplained elevations, relative to the rest of the state, in risk of death were found for patients diagnosed while living in two of the state's four largest cities.

Breast cancer: risk factors, screening, and prevention

OBJECTIVES

To provide a review of the major and minor risk factors for the development of breast cancer and the options for prevention and treatment in women at high risk for breast cancer.

DATA SOURCES

Clinical and research articles and textbooks.

CONCLUSIONS

Breast cancer is the leading cancer found in women in the United States. For high-risk women, understanding their risk, appropriate screening recommendations, and possible prevention strategies is paramount.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE

Through education and psychosocial support, the nurse can assist with decision-making regarding risk reduction and current prevention and treatment options.

Breast cancer and aging. Clinical interactions

The incidence and mortality rates of breast cancer increase with age. As the geriatric population grows, the number of breast cancer cases will reach epidemic proportions. The number of coexisting medical conditions also increases with advancing age. The presence and severity of comorbid conditions influences an individual's ability to tolerate procedures and treatments and must be considered in making disease-management decisions. Screening mammography can potentially save lives in older women. Women whose life expectancy exceeds 5 years should continue annual screening mammography. Choices for local definitive therapy, systemic adjuvant therapy, and treatment of metastatic disease should be based on patient preference and ability to tolerate the planned procedure. In general, otherwise healthy older women should be offered the same treatment options given to younger, postmenopausal women. Alternative, less aggressive, or nonstandard approaches are warranted in women whose life expectancy is limited or who are unable or unwilling to undergo standard management procedures.

Competing risks analyses for recurrence from primary breast cancer

The effects of prognostic factors on local, regional or distant metastasis are standardly assessed separately. Competing risks analyses may be used to assess simultaneously the effects of factors on different types of first recurrence. Data for a cohort of 678 primary invasive breast cancer patients accrued between 1971 and 1990, updated to 1995, included type of first recurrence (local, regional, distant). We investigated the effects of the traditional factors of age, tumour size, nodal status, ER, PgR, adjuvant therapy (hormones, chemotherapy, radiotherapy) on type of recurrence and time to recurrence for all patients and for those aged > or = 65. For all ages of patients, there were five factors with significant associations with type or time to first recurrence. Adjuvant radiation was the only factor which had an effect (P < or = 0.05) on the type of first recurrence: being associated with a reduction in local recurrence. Age, nodal status, tumour size and adjuvant chemotherapy all had significant associations across all types of first recurrence, and in particular with time to recurrence for both local and distant metastasis. This indicates a potential lack of independence in these end-points. For patients > or = 65 years of age, there were no factors which differentially affected type of recurrence, while only nodal status and tumour size had significant associations with time to recurrence. Analyses were used to assess simultaneously the effects of traditional prognostic factors and treatment options on type of first recurrence and time to first recurrence. The extension to evaluations with newer prognostic factors would expedite the determination and mode of biologic activity for such factors.