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Improved survival of patients with primary distant metastatic breast cancer in the period of 1995–2008. A nationwide population-based study in the Netherlands

  • Epidemiology
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Abstract

In this study, changes in prognosis for more than 8,000 patients with primary distant metastatic breast cancer were analyzed, using nation-wide data of the Netherlands Cancer Registry. Besides the roll of systemic treatment, the effect of surgery of the primary tumor was evaluated. Between 1995 and 2008, 160,595 new patients were diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. Of these patients, 8,031 (5.0%) had distant metastases at diagnosis. Patients were divided into three periods, based on the year of diagnosis of their disease. The median survival was 1.42 years for patients diagnosed in the period 1995–1999, 1.61 years in the period 2000–2004 and 1.95 years in the period 2005–2008. The improvement of the median survival was most pronounced for patients younger than 50 years. Patients receiving systemic treatment, loco-regional radiotherapy or breast surgery had a significantly lower risk of death compared to patients not receiving these treatments. An improvement of 6 months is observed in the median survival of patients with primary distant metastatic breast cancer between 1995 and 2008. The increased efficacy of chemotherapy and the introduction of targeted treatments are the most likely explanations for this improvement, which was most marked for younger patients.

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Conflict of interest

The authors indicated no potential conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, Jeroen Bosch Hospital, Locatie Groot Ziekengasthuis, Tolbrugstraat 11, 5211 RW, ‘s-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands

    J. Ruiterkamp, M. F. Ernst & K. Bosscha

  2. Comprehensive Cancer Centre North East (CCCNE), Enschede/Groningen, The Netherlands

    L. de Munck

  3. Comprehensive Cancer Centre Middle Netherlands (CCCMN), Utrecht, The Netherlands

    M. van der Heiden-van der Loo

  4. Department of Surgery, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands

    E. Bastiaannet

  5. Comprehensive Cancer Centre South (CCCS), Eindhoven, The Netherlands

    L. V. van de Poll-Franse & A. C. Voogd

  6. Center of Research on Psychology in Somatic Diseases (CoRPS), Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands

    L. V. van de Poll-Franse

  7. Department of Medical Oncology, Maastricht University Medical Centre, GROW—School for Oncology and Developmental Biology, Maastricht, The Netherlands

    V. C. G. Tjan-Heijnen

  8. Department of Epidemiology, Maastricht University Medical Centre, GROW—School for Oncology and Developmental Biology, Maastricht, The Netherlands

    A. C. Voogd

Authors
  1. J. Ruiterkamp
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  2. M. F. Ernst
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  3. L. de Munck
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  4. M. van der Heiden-van der Loo
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  5. E. Bastiaannet
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  6. L. V. van de Poll-Franse
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  7. K. Bosscha
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  8. V. C. G. Tjan-Heijnen
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  9. A. C. Voogd
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Correspondence to J. Ruiterkamp.

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Ruiterkamp, J., Ernst, M.F., de Munck, L. et al. Improved survival of patients with primary distant metastatic breast cancer in the period of 1995–2008. A nationwide population-based study in the Netherlands. Breast Cancer Res Treat 128, 495–503 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-011-1349-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-011-1349-x

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