ASSESSMENT AND PREDICTION OF BREAST CANCER OUTCOME IN SUBGROUPS OF PATIENTS

Abstract

Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease and outcome varies between men and women, among patients with different clinical characteristics and ethnicities. Using data from six cancer registries, we compared the incidence and survival between men and women and concluded that male patients had better outcome after adjustment for life expectancy, age, stage and treatment. In the second study, breast carcinoma in situ patients were retrieved from population-based Swedish Multi-Generation Register. Their risk of developing invasive breast cancer was estimated to be four times higher than women in the general population. The excess risk was more pronounced among women of younger age and with family history. The third and fourth studies systematically identified and validated prognostic models for early breast cancer and metastatic breast cancer using the Singapore Malaysia Hospital Based Breast Cancer Registry. Both studies suggested the performance of these western-derived models was modest in a Southeast Asian setting.