A suggested follow-up time for breast cancer patients

The data for this study, consisting of 300 females treated for breast cancer in 1951-1961, were evaluated in order to ascertain when excess mortality from breast cancer disappears and what would be an appropriate follow-up period for investigational purposes. The clinical stages of the patients were classified as follows: 23.3%, stage I; 49%, stage II; 20.3%, stage III and 7.3%, stage IV. Halsted's radical mastectomy was performed in 79.7% of the cases. Every patient was given radiotherapy. Two hundred and ninety-eight patients could be followed until death or up to the present. Forty-five patients (16%) were still alive. The survival rate over a 20-year period for the various stages was as follows: stage I, 46.1%; stage II, 22.7% and stage III, 10.9%. Only 26% of the patients with stage I died of breast cancer, while the respective figures for stage II were 57% and stage III, 70%. The death rate from the cancer diminished with time in every stage especially 10 years after primary treatment. After this the observed survival rate curves were almost parallel with the expected curves. Our data show that for follow-up studies a 5-year follow-up is good and a 10-year follow-up is very good to show the trend in the treatment of breast cancer.