Address of Corresponding Author

Oncology 2005;68:48-51 (DOI: 10.1159/000084819)

  Key Words

• Breast cancer
• Chemotherapy
• Metastatic breast cancer
• Multidisciplinary treatments
• Survival

  Abstract

Aim: To describe clinical features, treatment modalities and long-term outcome of patients with overt metastatic breast cancer in complete remission for more than 5 years. Patients and Methods: A retrospective survey of 12 patients who were referred to a single institution from 1982 to 1995. Results: The majority of the long-term survivors had a good performance status, endocrine-responsive disease and a single metastatic site. Ten patients had received chemotherapy, 8 patients hormone therapy, and 2 patients had been treated with surgery followed by systemic therapies. At a median follow-up of 11.7 years, 10 of the 12 patients were still in complete remission. The median duration of complete remission was 9.2 years (range 5.0-15.7 years). Conclusions: This case series confirms that only a few metastatic breast cancer patients could potentially be cured with multidisciplinary treatments.

Copyright © 2005 S. Karger AG, Basel

  Author Contacts

Dr. Vito Amoroso
Unità Operativa di Oncologia Medica
Azienda Spedali Civili, Piazza Spedali Civili, 1
IT-25123 Brescia (Italy)
Tel. +39 0303995260, Fax +39 0303700017, E-Mail vitoamoroso@libero.it

  Article Information

Received: January 27, 2004
Accepted after revision: July 7, 2004
Published online: March 31, 2005
Number of Print Pages : 4
Number of Figures : 0, Number of Tables : 2, Number of References : 14