title: Changes in the treatment outcome of node-positive breast cancer stratified by menopausal status: comparison of patients treated in 1965-75 versus those treated in 1976-86.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this study was to examine whether and to what extent the outcome of treatment for lymph-node positive breast cancer patients improved between the periods 1965-75 and 1976-86.
  
  
  METHODS
  The subjects were 1595 patients with breast cancer positive for lymph node metastasis who were treated at the National Cancer Center Hospital between 1965 and 1986. In order to analyze background factors and treatment outcome, we classified the patients into four groups stratified by the time of initial surgery (1965-75/1976-86) and menopausal status (premenopause/postmenopause).
  
  
  RESULTS
  With respect to the clinicopathological background factors, significant changes between the periods 1965-75 and 1976-86 were more frequent use of modified radical mastectomy and postoperative adjuvant chemoendocrine therapy and less frequent use of postoperative radiotherapy in both pre- and postmenopausal patients. The 10-year disease-free and overall survival rates improved by approximately 15-20% between 1965-75 and 1976-86 in this group of patients, regardless of menopausal status.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The patients with node-positive disease treated at our hospital showed an increase in both disease-free and overall survival from 1965 to 1986.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Oncology, National Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takei
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fukutomi
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Akashi-Tanaka
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nanasawa
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy*; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000473:pathology*; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D015411:Mastectomy, Modified Radical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015409:Mastectomy, Radical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008593:Menopause; D008875:Middle Aged; D015996:Survival Rate