title: Disease free survival among molecular subtypes of early stage breast cancer between 2001 and 2010 in Iran.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women. Molecular subtypes are important in determining prognosis. This study evaluated five-year disease-free survival among four molecular subtypes in patients with early stages of breast cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this retrospective descriptive-analytical study, information on patients with breast cancer between 2001-2010 was evaluated. Five hundred ninety two patients in the early stages of breast cancer (stages 1 and 2) were selected to undergo anthracycline-based chemotherapy. Relapse, death or absence (censor) were considered as the end of the study. Patients based on ER, PR and HER-2 expression were divided into four subtypes (luminal A, luminal B, HER-2 enriched and triple negative). Information based upon questionnaire was analysed. To show the patients survival rate, life table and Kaplan-Meyer methods were used, and for comparing mean survival among different groups, the Log-Rank test was utilized.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean age at diagnosis was 47.9±9.6. Out of the 592 patients, 586 were female (99%) and 6 were male (1%). Considering breast cancer molecular subtypes, 361 patients were in the luminal A group (61%), 49 patients in the luminal B group (8.3%), 48 patients in the HER-2 enriched group (8.1%) and 134 in the triple negative group (22.6%). Mean disease-free survival was 53.7 months overall, 55.4 months for the luminal A group, 48.3 months for the luminal B group, 43 months for the HER-2enriched group and 54.6 months for the triple negatives. Disease free survival differed significantly among the molecular subtypes (p value=0.0001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The best disease-free survival rate was among the luminal A subgroup and the worst disease-free survival rate was among the HER-2 enriched subgroup. Disease free survival rate in the HER-2 positive groups (luminal B and HER-2 enriched) was worse than the HER-2 negative groups (luminal A and triple negative).
authors.affiliation: Hematology and Oncology Research Center, Razi Hospital, School of Medicine, Guilan University of Medical Science, Razi Hospital, Rasht, Iran E-mail : dabc930@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Behrouz
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Najafi
authors.forename: Saeid
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Anvari
authors.forename: Zahra Atrkar
authors.initials: ZA
authors.lastname: Roshan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D018943:Anthracyclines / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics / Q000401:mortality*; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000235:genetics; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen / Q000235:genetics; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate
chemical_list: D018943:Anthracyclines; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen