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A review of 60 years of MD Anderson patient records shows dramatic improvement in breast cancer¡¯s survival rates.

Many research milestones have had an impact, including:

• advances in screening for disease detection,
• better surgical techniques available to more women,
• an increased number of therapies that reduce the risk of relapse,
• combined modality approaches to treatment of the disease,
• use of systemic therapies prior to surgery,
• refinement of chemotherapies, specifically the incorporation of anthracyclines, taxanes and biologics, and
• newer hormonal agents like aromatase inhibitors.

For this retrospective, single-institution study, Aman Buzdar, M.D., professor in MD Anderson¡¯s Department of Breast Medical Oncology, and his team reviewed records of 56,864 breast cancer patients seen at the institution between 1944 and 2004.

Looking at five- and 10-year survival by stage (local, regional and distant, or metastatic), they found an impressive increase in survival in all three stages, as well as overall.

¡°In the first decade we tracked, 1944-1954, the 10-year survival of women with metastatic breast cancer was just 3.3%. However, between the decades of 1985-1994 and 1995-2004, the survival gain in the same cohort increased from 11.2% to 22.2%, respectively,¡± Buzdar says.

¡°Now we need to turn our attention to the refinement of breast cancer therapies, to further decrease risk of recurrence and death for our high-risk, early-stage breast cancer patients, and maintain disease control in those with metastatic disease.¡±

Reported in September 2010 in advance of the 2010 Breast Cancer Symposium.