title: Blood transfusions in breast cancer patients undergoing mastectomy: possible importance of timing.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The influence of blood transfusions on survival of breast cancer is still not convincingly determined. To assess prognostic significance of blood transfusions, a group of 863 breast cancer patients (mean follow-up 68.3 months) treated with mastectomy during 1977-1995 in Oncologic Hospital, Bielsko-Biala, Poland, was analyzed.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective analyses were performed using log-rank tests and Cox proportional hazards models.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In univariate analysis, administering blood transfusions to breast cancer patients after mastectomy significantly shortened their overall, local recurrence-free and metastases-free survival (95% confidence intervals for differences in 5 year survival ranged from 6.5-27%). Multivariate analyses showed that only time of transfusion with reference to the time of mastectomy was an independent prognostic factor for metastases-free survival.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Allogenic blood transfusions in the first 8 days after mastectomy may shorten metastases-free survival of breast cancer patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiotherapy, Oncologic Hospital, Bielsko-Biala, Poland. mpysz@kki.net.pl
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pysz
mesh_terms: D001803:Blood Transfusion / Q000401:mortality; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008408:Mastectomy; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016019:Survival Analysis; D013997:Time Factors