What is the survival rate for breast cancer? Researchers from Jeroen Bosch Hospital in Den Bosch, the Netherlands reported that women with breast cancer that has spread to other body parts can remain alive for 18 months longer if a breast tumor is removed through surgery.
Surgery, either to remove the affected areas or the entire breast tumors, is the primary treatment in most of the patients. "But if the cancer has spread, surgery is usually only offered if the patient is experiencing pain or other symptoms," said one researcher, Jetske Ruiterkamp, MD, as quoted by WebMD site.
To find role of surgery to improve survival the patient, the researchers studied medical data back from 728 breast cancer patients diagnosed at an advanced stage. Forty percent of them do surgery to remove the primary breast tumor.
The study found that patients who perform surgery live longer (the average of 31 months) than those without (14%). Even 24.5% of patients who undergo surgery are still alive up to 5 years in the future is only 13.1% of patients without surgery that can survive achieve these timescales.
survival rate breast cancer
According Ruiterkamp, the operation continues to reduce the risk of death by 40% even after accounting for age, time of diagnosis, the amount of area that has experienced the spread of, and differences in the type of treatment. "This discovery could lead changes in the medical system," he explained in a meeting of the European Cancer Organization and the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO).
What is the process behind it? According to the ESMO president Jose Baselga, MD, surgery can extend the life expectancy by attacking the roots of the tumor. "Tumor early as reservoirs that become the seeds of cancer stem cells, which will fuel the growth and spread of cancer." Because of this, he explained, removing the tumor means reducing the number of tumor cells circulating throughout the body.
Title: What is the survival rate for breast cancer
Address blog: http://typesofcancerx.blogspot.com/2012/01/what-is-survival-rate-for-breast-cancer.html
