Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 May;27(5):828-33.
doi: 10.1093/annonc/mdw036. Epub 2016 Jan 28.

Identifying the potential long-term survivors among breast cancer patients with distant metastasis

E S Lee  1 , S Y Jung  2 , J Y Kim  3 , J J Kim  1 , T K Yoo  1 , Y G Kim  1 , K S Lee  2 , E S Lee  2 , E K Kim  4 , J W Min  5 , W Han  1 , D Y Noh  1 , H G Moon  6
Affiliations
Free article

Identifying the potential long-term survivors among breast cancer patients with distant metastasis

E S Lee et al. Ann Oncol. 2016 May.
Free article

Abstract

Background: We aimed to develop a prediction model to identify long-term survivors after developing distant metastasis from breast cancer.

Patients and methods: From the institution's database, we collected data of 547 patients who developed distant metastasis during their follow-ups. We developed a model that predicts the post-metastasis overall survival (PMOS) based on the clinicopathologic factors of the primary tumors and the characteristics of the distant metastasis. For validation, the survival data of 254 patients from four independent institutions were used.

Results: The median duration of the PMOS was 31.0 months. The characteristics of the initial primary tumor, such as tumor stage, hormone receptor status, and Ki-67 expression level, and the characteristics of the distant metastasis presentation including the duration of disease-free interval, the site of metastasis, and the presence of metastasis-related symptoms were independent prognostic factors determining the PMOS. The association between tumor stage and the PMOS was only seen in tumors with early relapses. The PMOS score, which was developed based on the above six factors, successfully identified patients with superior survival after metastasis. The median PMOS for patients with a PMOS score of <2 and for patients with a PMOS score of >5 were 71.0 and 12 months, respectively. The clinical significance of the PMOS score was further validated using independent multicenter datasets.

Conclusions: We have developed a novel prediction model that can classify breast cancer patients with distant metastasis according to their survival after metastasis. Our model can be a valuable tool to identify long-term survivors who can be potential candidates for more intensive multidisciplinary approaches. Furthermore, our model can provide a more reliable survival information for both physicians and patients during their informed decision-making process.

Keywords: breast cancer; prediction model; stage IV; survival after metastasis.

PubMed Disclaimer

LinkOut - more resources