Observations on the mortality from carcinoma of the breast

The sequence of cancer deaths among operable patients with carcinoma of the breast can be described well by an exponential model. Patients with axillary metastases and patients without them form independent groups; each is described by a particular equation. Patients younger than 40 years of age and with axillary metastaes die sooner, but their long-term prognosis is not worse than for older women with axillary metastases.