Risk of breast cancer recurrence ‘persists for decades’

New research has shown that the risk of breast cancer recurrence can persist for much longer than was previously thought.

The University of Oxford study, funded by Cancer Research UK, pooled data from more than 60,000 women diagnosed with oestrogen receptor-positive breast cancer between 1976 and 2011 to assess recurrence trends.

It was shown that more than 11,000 had a recurrence of cancer at a distant site, such as the bone, liver or lung, with the risk of recurrence during each subsequent year from the fifth year after diagnosis remaining constant and undiminished.

Recurrence risk was strongly related to the presence and number of involved axillary lymph nodes at diagnosis, as well as the size and pathologic grade of the cancer. The highest rate of recurrence was among women with four or more involved axillary nodes, who had a 40 percent risk of a distant cancer recurrence by year 20.

This research suggests that instead of stopping cancer treatment at five years, many women could benefit from continuing therapy.

Dr Hongchao Pan, lead author from the University of Oxford, said: "This improved understanding of the factors that raise the risk of a late recurrence will help women and their doctors make individual decisions on how long to continue hormonal treatment."

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