title: The recurrence frequency of breast cancer and its prognostic factors in Iranian patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Recurrent breast cancer (BC) after initial treatments is usually associated with poor outcome. The objective of this study is to evaluate baseline characteristics of BC patients to determine their prognostic influence of recurrences.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this retrospective study of 481 BC patients, 182 patients who had recurrence within the first, second, or third 5 years after diagnosis were included in the study. The significant prognostic factors associated with late or very late recurrence were selected according to the Akaike Information Criterion. Early recurrence was defined as initial recurrence within 5 years following curative surgery irrespective of site. Likewise, late recurrence was defined as initial recurrence after 5 years. Also, very late recurrence was defined as initial recurrence after 10 years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  During the follow-up period, 182 recurrences occurred (local recurrence or distant metastasis). All patients were treated with chemotherapy and radiotherapy and the patients with estrogen receptor (ER)- or progesterone receptor (PR)-positive had hormone therapy. There was a significant correlation between histological grade and receptors status with recurrence. In binary logistic regression analysis, ER and PR were significant prognostic factors for early recurrence.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  High histological grade and immunohistochemical markers (ER- and PR-negative or human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive) are risk factors for recurrence, especially in early recurrence and also between of them, ER is the more significant prognostic factor in early recurrence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Hazrat-e-Rasoul Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shahriari-Ahmadi
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Hazrat-e-Rasoul Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohsen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arabi
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran.
authors.forename: Mehrdad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Payandeh
authors.affiliation: Medical Biology Research Center, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran.
authors.forename: Masoud
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sadeghi
keywords: Breast cancer; estrogen receptor; lymph node; recurrence