The Prognosis of Metastatic Breast Cancer ~ Breast Cancer

When breast cancer has spread from the breast to other parts of the body, it is called metastatic breast cancer. Treatment for metastatic breast cancer remains the same as it was before the cancer spread, but the prognosis is worse.

According to Musa Mayer, author of AdvancedBC.org, metastatic breast cancer is not curable. This is because once it has spread to other parts of the body, there is no treatment or combination of treatments that can completely eliminate the cancer.

Treatment for metastatic breast cancer can extend the life of women suffering from the disease. Even though the prognosis is poor, treatment can ease the side effects.

Prognosis largely depends on the biology of the cancer. Most patients can be treated with targeted therapies when the cancer is ER (estrogen receptor) positive, PR (progesterone receptor) positive or HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2) positive. These diagnoses mean the cancer is easily affected by these hormones, so treatment can be specifically tailored.

A woman with better general health can often handle treatments better and has a healthier prognosis.

According to Cancer Monthly, the five-year survival rate of women with metastatic breast cancer is 14 percent.

The National Center for Biotechnology Information says that despite the poor prognosis, the outlook for a small percentage of patients can be improved if the cancer has spread to only a small number of organs.

Stages of Breast Cancer
www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/diagnosis/staging
Stage is usually expressed as a number on a scale of 0 through IV with stage 0 describing non-invasive cancers that remain within their original location and ...
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Metastatic Cancer Fact Sheet - National Cancer Institute
www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Sites-Types/metastatic
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Implications of Bone-Only Metastases in Breast Cancer:
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1. Anticancer Res. 1999 Nov-Dec;19(6C):5571-3. Breast cancer metastatic to the kidney. Takehara K, Koga S, Nishikido M, Kanetake H, Hayashi T, Hara S, Ayabe H,
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