Moving the Needle: Improvements in Breast Cancer Outcomes

Given the evolution of breast cancer therapy during the last 2 decades, a fundamental belief is that outcomes for patients with early-stage disease (stage I–III) have improved. To verify this view, investigators from the British Columbia Cancer Agency examined patterns of patients during two distinct time periods according to estrogen receptor (ER) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status.

The study involved 7178 patients with biopsy-proven stage I–III cancer and known ER and HER2 status who were referred to the British Columbia Cancer Agency and diagnosed between 1986 and 1992 (cohort 1) or between 2004 and 2008 (cohort 2). Information on systemic therapy, date of diagnosis, recurrence, and death were available on all pati…