Prediction of outcome after first recurrence of breast cancer
Aaltomaa, S.; Lipponen, P.; Eskelinen, M.; Kosma, V.M.; Marin, S.; Alhava, E.; Syrjänen, K.
European Journal of Surgery 158(1): 13-18
1992
ISSN/ISBN: 1102-4151 PMID: 1348633 Document Number: 394444
Objective: To assess the independent power of certain clinical, histological, and morphometric variables to predict survival after first recurrence of breast cancer. Design: Long term follow up study. Setting: Departments of surgery and pathology, University Hospital. Subjects: 212 patients (from a consecutive series of 517) who developed recurrence after primary treatment of breast cancer between 1968 and 1990. Interventions: Re-examination of histology of primary tumours, follow up of patients, and calculation of predictive score by Cox's regression analysis. Results: The nodal status at the time of diagnosis (p < 0.001), the SD of the nuclear area (p = 0.01), the degree of tubule formation (p = 0.003), and the age of patient, were all independent predictors. The most important predictor of survival was the prognostic score derived from the coefficients of the Cox's model (p < 0.0001). Conclusion: Survival after the first recurrence can be accurately predicted by advanced histologial analysis of the primary tumour tissue. Combination of independent predictors permits even more accurate estimation of survival time.