Doctors use a staging system to describe the severity of breast cancer. This system is based on the size of the primary tumor, the number of lymph nodes where cancer has spread, and the location of those lymph nodes. The higher the number, the more advanced cancer is.
Stage 0 is non-invasive cancer, which is defined as having a tumor of fewer than five centimeters. Stage I is early breast cancer, with a tumor no more than two centimeters wide. Stage II is when cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes. Stage III is when it has spread to other parts of the body, and Stage IV is when it has spread to distant lymph nodes.
Recurrence Rates
Having a good understanding of breast cancer recurrence rates is essential for patient safety and informed treatment decisions. The SEER database includes population-level data on female breast cancer patients, including Kaplan-Meier estimates and a log-rank test. It also provides propensity score matching and propensity score analysis.
In a recent study by Alessio Meter, Victor Lago, and colleagues, 894 patients treated with NSM between 2002 and 2017 were studied. The researchers found a low nipple recurrence rate of 1.4%, with a high survival rate of 98.5%. However, despite this high recurrence rate, the study had an extended follow-up of 8.6 years.
In another study, Fisher, Jeong, Bryant, et al. combined Bonetti and Gelber's concepts with a locally weighted regression smoothing procedure to assess treatment-covariate interactions. They used a Cox proportional hazards model to create survival curves for breast cancer patients with MDT care. They found that enrolment in MDT care was a relevant treatment variable.
Overall, it's clear that early diagnosis is key for successful treatment of breast cancer. The earlier you are diagnosed with breast cancer, the better your chances are for successful treatment and survival.
