BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:

• Taylor et al. (BMJ, 2023) described long-term breast cancer mortality among women with a past vs more recent diagnosis of breast cancer

METHODS:

• Population based observational cohort study
  • Data from the UK National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service
• Population
  • All women registered with early invasive breast cancer in England from 1993 to 2015
• Primary outcomes
  • Annual breast cancer mortality rates and cumulative risks by time since diagnosis
  • Calendar period of diagnosis
  • Characteristics of patients and tumors

RESULTS:

• Women registered: 512,447
• For women with a diagnosis made within each of the 5-year calendar periods starting in 1993
  • The crude annual breast cancer mortality rate was highest during the five years after diagnosis and then declined
• For any given time since diagnosis
  • Crude annual breast cancer mortality rates and risks decreased with increasing calendar period
  • Crude five-year breast cancer mortality risk
    • Diagnosis made during 1993 to 1999: 14.4% (95% CI, 14.2 to 14.6)
    • Diagnosis made during 2010 to 2015: 4.9% (95% CI, 4.8 to 5.0)
  • Adjusted annual breast cancer mortality rates also decreased with increasing calendar period in nearly all patient groups
• There was considerable variability in risk of death from breast cancer among those recently diagnosed
  • <3% for 62.8%
  • ≥20% in 4.6% of women

CONCLUSION:

• For women with early-stage breast cancer, prognoses have improved substantially since 1993
• The authors state

Since the 1990s, the five year risk of death from breast cancer has decreased from 14.4% to 4.9% overall, with reductions seen in nearly all patient groups

Learn More – Primary Sources:

Breast cancer mortality in 500 000 women with early invasive breast cancer in England, 1993-2015: population based observational cohort study