Survival in interval breast cancer in the DOM screening programme.
The study describes breast cancer survival of 75 interval cancer cases (cancer occurring within 2 years of a negative screen) detected in women who participated in the DOM screening programme. After mammographic revision, this group was divided into 17 so-called 'missed' cases and 58 'true' interval cases. Ten year survival of these 58 'true' interval cases was 58%, which was not significantly different from that of 219 cancers detected in a non-screened, control group of women, diagnosed with breast cancer before the start of screening (63%; log rank chi 2 test, P = 0.98). Results remained essentially the same after correction for age at diagnosis, tumour size, axillary status and year of diagnosis. Ten year survival of 'true' interval cancers (58%) was slightly worse than that of 'missed' cases (67%; log rank chi 2 test: P = 0.38). This difference could largely be explained by differences in tumour size and axillary status. We conclude that there was no important difference in survival between 'true' interval cancers and non-screened historical controls. This could mean that either this subgroup of interval cancers does not constitute an excess of rapidly growing tumours, or if it does, that a fast growth rate is not associated with an exceptionally poor prognosis.
Brekelmans
C T
CT
Department of Epidemiology, University of Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Peeters
P H
PH
Deurenberg
J J
JJ
Collette
H J
HJ
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001365:Axilla; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008327:Mammography; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D015996:Survival Rate