A study recently published in Cureus Journal of Medical Science identified numerous clinical and demographic factors that are significantly linked with survival among patients with breast cancer.
Participants with distant, or metastasized, cancer had 15.869 times the risk of death at a given time compared with participants with localized breast cancer, making it the strongest predictor of survival.
The study followed 28,341 patients in Texas over 11 years using data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program. Breast cancer is a major contributor to cancer-related mortality among women, ranking second overall in the state.
Overall, a greater proportion of white non-Hispanic patients were diagnosed at older ages than Black non-Hispanic and Hispanic individuals. Additionally, Black non-Hispanic and Hispanic patients were more likely to be diagnosed with metastatic cancer than white patients.
Read more about breast cancer prognosis
Racial disparities in survival rates existed, too. At 10 years, about 30% of Black non-Hispanic patients, 18% of Hispanic patients, and 16% of white patients died.
On average, those diagnosed at the localized stage lived 67.34 months longer than those diagnosed at the distant stage.
After 10 years, approximately 25% of participants with triple negative breast cancer died, while 10% of patients with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer died. Individuals whose primary tumor was located in the upper-outer quadrant of the right breast also had a better prognosis.
Of note, participants who underwent chemotherapy had a 44.8% greater risk of death at any given time than participants who did not. Conversely, participants who received systemic therapy or surgery had a 34.9% lower risk of death at any given time than those who did not.
Because stage at diagnosis was by far the strongest predictor of prognosis, the researchers emphasize the need for timely detection.
“This study highlights the importance of early diagnosis and screening for women in Texas,” the authors concluded. “Our research can help policymakers develop health policies that target vulnerable populations to improve health outcomes for breast cancer patients.”