An evaluation of ovarian status as a prognostic factor in disseminated cancer of the breast

This is a report on the relationship between ovarian status at diagnosis of disseminated breast cancer and subsequent survival time. Women who were still menstruating had “above average” survival, while women who had been castrated subsequent to diagnosis of the primary tumor had “below average” survival. These differences cannot be explained in terms of age, “disease-free interval,” or sites of metastases. Among women who were post-menopausal at diagnosis of the primary tumor, menopausal age is a weak prognostic factor when “disease-free interval” is taken into account.