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More women who experience a recurrence of breast
cancer after initial treatment<are surviving the disease, according to the results of a
recent study conducted by the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. The report shows that since
1974, the survival rate from breast cancer recurrences has increased approximately 1% each
year. The researchers attribute the improvement in survival to better treatment
strategies; in particular, more effective drug therapies.
The American Cancer Society estimates that in 2004, 215,990 women in the United States
will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. Approximately 40,110 of these women will
die from the disease this year. There are over two million women living in the U.S. who
have been treated for breast cancer.
To study breast cancer trends over the past few decades, Sharon H. Giordano, M.D., and
her team from M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas studied survival rates of 834
women who experienced a recurrence of breast cancer between November 1974 and December
2000. Patients were divided into five groups based on year of breast cancer recurrence:
1974-1979, 1980-1984, 1985-1989, 1990-1994 and 1995-2000. Survival was compared across the
five groups.
Results of the analysis showed that breast cancer survival among the women who
experienced recurrences of the disease improved approximately 1% each year from 1974 to
2000. In the study, women diagnosed with breast cancer recurrences in more recent years
were more likely to survive than women diagnosed in the seventies, for example. Other
factors that predicted longer periods of survival after breast cancer recurrence included
smaller initial tumor size, earlier stage of the disease, fewer lymph nodes involved,
longer disease-free interval, estrogen receptor-positive tumors, and the site of the
disease recurrence.
Women with breast cancer recurrences who were part of the earlier periods of the study
were more likely to experience recurrences in the liver and lungs, compared to more recent
diagnoses, many of which occurred in the lymph nodes. Despite these differences, the
researchers attribute the overall trend in improved breast cancer survival to better
treatment. In particular, Dr. Giordano and colleagues say drug therapies have dramatically
improved in recent years.
There are several different classes of drugs used to treat
breast cancer. These include: SERMS (selective estrogen-receptor modulators), aromatase
inhibitors, biologic response modifiers, and hormonal therapies. Specific drugs used to
treat breast cancer include:
- Adriamycin (doxorubicin)
- Aredia (generic name, pamidronate disodium)
- Arimidex (anastrozole)
- Aromasin (exemestane)
- Cytoxan (cyclophosphamide)
- Ellence (epirubicin)
- Fareston (toremifene)
- Femara (letrozole)
- Herceptin (trastuzumab)
- Megace (megestrol)
- Tamoxifen (Nolvadex)
- Taxol (paclitaxel)
- Taxotere (docetaxel)
- Xeloda (capecitabine)
- Zoladex (goserelin acetate)
*Generic drug names are shown in parentheses.
The researchers say that further studies are needed to conclusively determine whether
the improvements in drug therapy are responsible for improvements in breast cancer
survival. In the meantime, they are encouraged by this promising trend.
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