TURKISH JOURNAL OF ONCOLOGY 2006 , Vol 21 , Num 1
Prognostic factors effecting the survival in patients with initially metastatic breast cancer
Canfeza SEZGİN,1 Osman ZEKİOĞLU,2 Erhan GÖKMEN1
1Ege Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi, İç Hastalıkları Anabilim Dalı, Tıbbi Onkoloji Bilim Dalı
1Ege Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi, Patoloji Anabilim Dalı
OBJECTIVES
There have not been much data in literature related to the prognostic factors effecting survival in patients with initially metastatic breast cancer.

METHODS
To evaluate these factors, 44 patients with initially metastatic breast cancer who had adequate clinical and follow-up records were involved into this study. The biological characteristics of primary tumor were investigated by using immuno-histochemical methods. And also, the effects of histological and nuclear grade of the tumor, patients' age, visceral metastasis and performance status on survival were investigated.


Median overall survival was 39 months (%95 confidential interval: 27.6-50.4). Lower performance status and presence of visceral metastasis were found to be the factors effecting the survival in univariate analysis (p≤0.05).

CONCLUSION
Lower performance status, hormone receptor negativity and presence of visceral metastasis were found to be as negative factors effecting overall survival in multivariate analysis (p≤0.05). Keywords : Carcinoma, ductal, breast; breast neoplasms/mortality/ pathology/therapy; neoplasm metastasis; prognosis; time factors; survival analysis