Publication

Patterns of recurrence of early breast cancer according to estrogen receptor status: a therapeutic target for a quarter of a century

Journal Paper/Review - Sep 1, 2009

Units
PubMed
Doi
Contact

Citation
Pagani O, Goldhirsch A, Coates A, Fey M, Collins J, Thürlimann B, Lindtner J, Holmberg S, Castiglione-Gertsch M, Gelber R, Price K, International Breast Cancer Study Group (IBCSG). Patterns of recurrence of early breast cancer according to estrogen receptor status: a therapeutic target for a quarter of a century. Breast Cancer Res Treat 2009; 117:319-24.
Type
Journal Paper/Review (English)
Journal
Breast Cancer Res Treat 2009; 117
Publication Date
Sep 1, 2009
Issn Electronic
1573-7217
Pages
319-24
Brief description/objective

The current therapeutic strategy in breast cancer is to identify a target, such as estrogen receptor (ER) status, for tailoring treatments. We investigated the patterns of recurrence with respect to ER status for patients treated in two randomized trials with 25 years' median follow-up. In the ER-negative subpopulations most breast cancer events occurred within the first 5-7 years after randomization, while in the ER-positive subpopulations breast cancer events were spread through 10 years. In the ER-positive subpopulation, 1 year endocrine treatment alone significantly prolonged disease-free survival (DFS) with no additional benefit observed by adding 1 year of chemotherapy. In the small ER-negative subpopulation chemo-endocrine therapy had a significantly better DFS than endocrine alone or no treatment. Despite small numbers of patients, "old-fashioned" treatments, and competing causes of treatment failure, the value of ER status as a target for response to adjuvant treatment is evident through prolonged follow-up.