ATLANTA, June 5 (UPI) -- Oregon Health & Science University Cancer Institute study says some breast-cancer patients may have a higher probability of survival than previously thought.
Breast cancer is diagnosed as having progressed to any of four stages, with Stage IV being the most advanced, but these stages were updated in 2002 by the American Joint Committee on Cancer on the basis of how much the cancer has spread.
The study analyzed 4,810 patients who were treated at either St. John Medical Center in Longview, Wash., or Southwest Washington Medical Center in Vancouver, British Columbia. Each patient was assigned a disease stage based on both the 5th and 6th editions of the AJCC Cancer Staging Manual.
As a result of the changes, 13 percent of the patients previously diagnosed with Stage II breast cancer would now be diagnosed with Stage III. Thus, the 10-year survival rate for those with Stage II breast cancer improved, from 66 percent -- 5th edition -- to 72 percent -- 6th edition. For those with Stage III, the 10-year survival rate also improved, from 30 percent to 36 percent.
The findings are being presented at the 2006 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Atlanta.
