title: Survival rate of breast cancer based on geographical variation in iran, a national study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women worldwide. Based on the latest Iranian national cancer department report, the total number of women registered with breast cancer was 6976 cases during 2007. Five year survival is one of the indicators used for evaluation of the quality for care to different types of malignancies including breast cancer.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to estimate survival rate of breast cancer in 6147 Iranian patients at a national level in different geographic regions.
  
  
  METHODS
  6147 cases of breast cancer, which had telephone number and were diagnosed between 2001-2006, were called to obtain information about their life status. Survival estimates were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method, and the survival probability was calculated for the overall cohort and in different categories of gender, age and pathologic type of tumor. Hazard ratios (HR) according to demographic and risk variables were calculated by Cox's proportional hazard model.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The overall 5-year survival rate was 71.0%. The mean survival time was different between men and women, which was statistically significant. The number of men involved with breast cancer was 172 (2.8%) of all cases. The 5-year survival rate for patients in age group 41-50 years was significantly higher than other age groups (P = 0.001). The likelihood of death was higher in patients with 61 years old or more years rather than those below forty years old (HR = 1.31; 95% CI: 1.12-1.55).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  THE FINDINGS OF THIS STUDY MIGHT HELP IRANIAN HEALTH MANAGERS: 1) to be more conscious about geographical and regional determinants which will affect overall survival rate. 2) To carry preventive activities such as public education particularly in Iranian men. 3) To think about screening and early detection of breast cancer.
authors.affiliation: Cancer Research Centre, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Science, Tehran, IR Iran ; Epidemiology Department, School of Public Health, ShahidBeheshti University of Medical Science, Tehran, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Movahedi
authors.forename: Shahpar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Haghighat
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Khayamzadeh
authors.forename: Afshin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Moradi
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ghanbari-Motlagh
authors.forename: Hamidreza
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mirzaei
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Esmail-Akbari
keywords: Breast Neoplasm; Iran; Pathologic Type; Place of Residence; Survival Rate