Improved survival in metastatic breast cancer 1985–2016

PURPOSE: In the last 25 years new treatment options in breast cancer have evolved. We wanted to determine whether the survival of; patients with metastatic breast cancer have improved during this period. METHODS: Patients consecutively diagnosed with disseminated breast cancer 1985-2014 in the County of Kalmar, Sweden, were identified and followed to 2016. Survival was calculated for each successive 5 year interval. Separate analyses were performed for pts with ER and/or PR and HER2 positive tumours resp. RESULTS: Median survival of the 784 patients increased successively from 13 to 33 months. Five year survival increased from 10 to 27%. Patients with high grade primary tumours had the shortest post recurrence survival time but their median survival increased significantly by time from 12 to 30 months, 3 year survival from 16 to 38% and 5 year from 5 to 20%. Median survival for patients with grade 2 tumours was 2 years and did not improve. Only 47 patients had grade 1 tumours and their median survival of 4 years did not change. Median survival for HER2 positive patients treated before the introduction of trastuzumab in year 2000 was 14 months and after 2000 29 months, 5 year survival improved from 2 to 31%. CONCLUSIONS: Survival in metastatic breast cancer improved 1985-2016. For the first time a significant increase in survival time for patients with metastasis from fast-growing grade 3 tumours was seen. The most striking improvement was achieved in the HER2 positive subset.