title: Factors affecting outcome in locally advanced breast cancer.
abstract: Patients presenting with locally advanced breast cancer (LABC) constitute a diverse group for which a variety of treatment modalities have been instituted. To assess which factors have a direct impact on outcome, we reviewed the medical records of 104 patients diagnosed with stage IIIA, stage IIIB and T3N0M0 breast carcinoma. When considered individually (univariate analysis), clinical stage, pathological stage, oestrogen receptor status and type of therapy were significant predictors for disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS). However, in a multivariate analysis, only clinical stage was a significant predictor for both DFS and OS, while ER status was a significant predictor for OS. There was a high degree of correlation between clinical and pathological staging. Nearly two-thirds of the patients developed a recurrence by 5 years. Loco-regional recurrence was the site of first recurrence in one-third of the patients by 5 years. The prognosis for patients presenting with LABC is poor, and they should be treated aggressively with loco-regional and systemic multimodality therapy. Although groups of patients with improved outcome could be identified by clinical or pathological staging, no group demonstrated an outcome good enough to be spared from multimodality therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Oncology, Rosewell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, New York 14263.
authors.forename: E R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Sanchez-Forgach
authors.forename: E P
authors.initials: EP
authors.lastname: Mamounas
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Warneke
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Driscoll
authors.forename: L E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Blumenson
authors.forename: T N
authors.initials: TN
authors.lastname: Tsangaris
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D009518:New York / Q000453:epidemiology; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D016019:Survival Analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome