Systemic Adjuvant Therapy for Node-Negative Breast Cancer: Proven or Premature?

Editorials1 July 1989Systemic Adjuvant Therapy for Node-Negative Breast Cancer: Proven or Premature?Kathleen I. Pritchard, MDKathleen I. Pritchard, MDSearch for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-111-1-1 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptUntil recently, it has not been considered standard practice to administer adjuvant systemic therapy after surgery to any group of women with node-negative breast cancer (1). These women have relatively few relapses, only 25% to 28% at 10 years, compared with a 10-year relapse rate of 75% in women with node-positive disease (2, 3). Overall survival rates, similarly, are 65% to 82% at 10 years for women with node-negative disease and 25% to 40% for women with involved axillary nodes (2, 3). Recurrence and survival rates for node-negative women are, however, still far from ideal.Before 1988, only a few...References1. Consensus C. Adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer. JAMA. 1985;254:3461-3. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. FisherSlackKatrychWolmark BNDN. Ten year follow-up results of patients with carcinoma of the breast in a co-operative clinical trial evaluating surgical adjuvant chemotherapy. Surg Gynecol Obstet. 1975;140:528-34. MedlineGoogle Scholar3. ValagussaBonadonnaVeronesi PGU. Patterns of relapse and survival following radical mastectomy. Cancer. 1978;41:1170-8. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. BonadonnaValagussaZambettiBuzzoniMoliterni GPMRA. Milan adjuvant trials for stage I-II breast cancer. In: Salmon SE, ed. Adjuvant Therapy of Cancer V. New York: Grune & Stratton; 1987:211-21. Google Scholar5. SemiglazovBavliMoiseyenko VJV. Clinical trials on adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer. Cancer. 1986;57:1957-60. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar6. 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In: Harris JR, Hellman S, Henderson IC, Kinne DW, eds. Breast Diseases. Philadelphia: JB Lippincott; 1987:350. Google Scholar This content is PDF only. To continue reading please click on the PDF icon. Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Sunnybrook Medical Centre University of Toronto Toronto, Ontario Nextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited byBreast DiseasesLong-term survival of T1 and T2 lymph node-negative breast cancer patients according to mitotic activity index: A population-based studyProliferative activity in primary breast carcinomas is a salient prognostic factorAn Outcome Study of Breast Reconstruction: Presurgical Identification of Risk Factors for ComplicationsFlow cytometry in primary breast carcinomas. 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