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Factors associated with mortality after breast cancer metastasis

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Abstract

Background

It is generally accepted that patients with breast cancer metastases have very poor survival. Metastatic breast cancer patients can be considered a heterogeneous population with a varied clinical course, which underscores the need for accurate prediction of survival based on prognostic factors. The purpose of the present study was to identify factors related to survival in breast cancer patients after diagnosis with metastatic disease.

Populations and methods

A total of 557 patients with breast cancer metastasis diagnosis seen at one large urban practice have been followed up between 1 January, 1999 and 30 June, 2010. Demographic, tumor characteristics, clinical factors as predictors of survival were analyzed using log-rank test and Cox regression model.

Results

The median survival length was 39 months (range 1–138 months) with 154 (27.7%) alive and 403 (72.3%) dead at the end of follow-up period. This study demonstrated that a history of hypertension, ER/PR status, HER2 status, metastasis-free interval, metastatic location (including brain, bone and liver), and BMI at diagnosis with metastatic breast cancer were the most relevant prognostic factors for survival after metastatic disease diagnosis.

Conclusion

Findings of this study may form a foundation for the growing corpus of knowledge explaining the outcome differences in treatment of patients with metastatic breast cancer, potentially helping to create tailored counseling and personalized treatment approaches for this vulnerable group.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, 130 DeSoto Street, 714 Parran Hall, Pittsburgh, PA, 15261, USA

    Su Yon Jung, Susan M. Sereika & Joel L. Weissfeld

  2. University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Margaret Rosenzweig, Adam Brufsky & Joel L. Weissfeld

  3. University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Margaret Rosenzweig & Susan M. Sereika

  4. Department of Biostatistics, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Susan M. Sereika

  5. Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, Magee-womens Research Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Faina Linkov

  6. Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Adam Brufsky & Joel L. Weissfeld

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  1. Su Yon Jung
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  2. Margaret Rosenzweig
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Correspondence to Su Yon Jung.

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Jung, S.Y., Rosenzweig, M., Sereika, S.M. et al. Factors associated with mortality after breast cancer metastasis. Cancer Causes Control 23, 103–112 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-011-9859-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-011-9859-8

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