THE INFLUENCE OF CHEMOTHERAPY ON SURVIVAL AFTER RECURRENCE IN BREAST-CANCER - A POPULATION-BASED STUDY OF PATIENTS TREATED IN THE 1950S, 1960S AND 1970S

In a population-based study survival after recurrence was compared in three cohorts of patients with a primary diagnosis of breast cancer in 1959, 1969 and 1979, respectively. The use of chemotherapy after recu rrence in these cohorts was either none, sporadic or widespread. This allowed a retrospective analysis of the survival impact of chemotherap y. Given the basic assumption that the natural history of breast cance r and the influence of endocrine therapy have not changed significantl y during the 20-year period covered by the study, our data suggest tha t chemotherapy in recurrent breast cancer prolongs survival by 9.5 mon ths in patients who survive more than 2 weeks from the start of treatm ent for their recurrence.