Survival in breast cancer: study of 283 patients

Records of 283 women with breast cancer diagnosed from 1965 through 1973 at l'Hôpital du Saint-Sacrement were studied for survival at 3 and 5 years. These were all patients who had not previously received cancer-directed treatment. Life-table methods based on full intervals only were used to analyze survival. Adjustment for deaths from other causes was provided by computing the expected and relative survival rates. The 5-year relative survival rates (%) were 60.2+/-4.1 for the total group of 283 patients, 87.9+/-4.5 for the 142 with localized disease and 44.9+/-59 for the 118 with regional spread. Of the patients with disease that was either localized or regional, 84% underwent total mastectomy. The age of patients at entry did not differ from that of cases reported to the Quebec Tumour Registry. The significant increase over time in the proportion of patients with localized disease would be expected to reduce the Quebec death rate from breast cancer in future if the better survival of these patients is not simply a function of earlier diagnosis.