10740 Background: The median age of the breast cancer at diagnosis in Korean women is 45 years and a quarter of the patients are at age 40 or younger. The purpose of this study was to analyze the prognostic factors including age for patients treated with breast conserving surgery and radiotherapy. Methods: Two hundred and eleven breast cancer patients were treated with breast conserving therapy at Soonchunhyang University Hospital, Seoul, Korea, between May 1991 and May 2003. The radiation dose to the whole breast was 50.4 Gy over 5 weeks and boost doses of 10–14 Gy administered to the tumor bed in the majority of the patients (180/211). Nodal radiotherapy was delivered in patients with 4 or more node metastasis. Adjuvant chemotherapy was performed in most of the patients with node metastasis or tumors larger than 1cm, or younger patients. One hundred and thirty four patients received CMF regimen, 14 patients treated with CEF regimen. The median and minimum follow-up periods were 58 and 30 months respectively. Results: The average age at the time of operation was 41.9 years (median 42 years, range 23–67 years), and the mean tumor size was 2.03 cm (median 1.80 cm). One hundred and forty seven patients (69.7%) had pathologically node negative disease and fifteen patients had 4 or more lymph node metastasis. Local, regional relapse and distant metastasis occurred in 7, 3 and 10 patients respectively. The 5 year disease free, loco-regional relapse free and overall survival rate were 89.5%, 93.4%, 95.6%, respectively. Three patients among the 31 patients who received 50.4Gy or incomplete radiotherapy to the breast experienced loco-regional relapse. Age (40 years or less versus more than 40 years old) was not a prognostic factor in univariate analysis. T stage (p = 0.027), lymph node metastasis (p < 0.01) were significant factors for recurrences. By multivariate analysis, only lymph node status was a significant prognostic factor for treatment related failure. Conclusions: A breast conserving procedure is effective for patients with early stage breast cancer regardless of age in Korean women. Axillary lymph node status was the most important independent predictor for a recurrence, and more efficient treatment is required for these patients with lymph node metastasis. No significant financial relationships to disclose.
The lymph node status as a prognostic factor in colon cancer: comparative population study of classifications using the logarithm of the ratio between metastatic and nonmetastatic nodes (LODDS) versus the pN-TNM classification and ganglion ratio systems
