[Clinical analysis of 34 patients with adrenal metastasis from breast cancer].
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the clinical characteristics and prognosis of adrenal metastasis from breast cancer, and to explore methods to improve prognosis.


METHODS
Thirty-four breast cancer patients with adrenal metastasis were diagnosed and treated in our hospital from Jan. 1999 to Dec. 2010. SPSS 17.0 was used for survival analysis.


RESULTS
During the Jan. 1999 to Dec. 2010 period, 13 595 patients with breast cancer were treated in our hospital. Among them, 34 cases had adrenal metastasis from breast cancer, with an incidence of 0.25%. The median time to progression (TTP) and overall survival of the 34 patients was 6.2 months (95%CI 3.1-9.3 months) and 21.4 months (95%CI 0-44.0 months), respectively. Eleven patients (34.4%) achieved partial response among 32 patients who received chemotherapy, and 10 (31.2%) achieved stable disease. Patients who achieved best response of PR or SD were superior in TTP and OS than patients with disease progression after chemotherapy (TTP: 18.1 months vs. 2.3 months, P < 0.001; OS: 35.2 months vs. 10.3 months, P = 0.003). Patients who received 1st or 2nd line chemotherapy were superior in TTP than patients who received over 2nd line chemotherapy (TTP: 15.7 months vs. 4.2 months, P = 0.005).


CONCLUSIONS
The incidence of adrenal metastasis from breast cancer is low. Chemotherapy-based systemic therapy should be recommended to improve the prognosis for these patients.
Department of Medical Oncology, Cancer Hospital (Institute), Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China.
Qiao
Q
Li
Department of Medical Oncology, Cancer Hospital (Institute), Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China. Email: xubinghe@medmail.com.cn.
Bing-he
BH
Xu
Department of Medical Oncology, Cancer Hospital (Institute), Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China.
Qing
Q
Li
Department of Medical Oncology, Cancer Hospital (Institute), Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China.
Pin
P
Zhang
Department of Medical Oncology, Cancer Hospital (Institute), Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China.
Peng
P
Yuan
Department of Medical Oncology, Cancer Hospital (Institute), Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China.
Jia-yu
JY
Wang
Department of Medical Oncology, Cancer Hospital (Institute), Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China.
Fei
F
Ma
Department of Medical Oncology, Cancer Hospital (Institute), Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China.
Rui-gang
RG
Cai
Department of Medical Oncology, Cancer Hospital (Institute), Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China.
Ying
Y
Fan
Department of Medical Oncology, Cancer Hospital (Institute), Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China.
Yang
Y
Luo
D000310:Adrenal Gland Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000556:secondary* / Q000601:surgery; D000315:Adrenalectomy; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology*; D018270:Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D012074:Remission Induction; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate