Clinical and Patohistological Factors Affecting the 5 Year Survival Rate in a Population of Croatian Women with Invasive Ductal Breast Carcinoma

Abstract

Breast carinoma falls into a heterogeneous group of diseases which can be determined by various prognostic factors. The identification of clinical and histopathologic factors is of great value in predicting the progression of tumor growth and survival outcome. Due to a high degree of cell proliferation in breast tumors and high genetic instability of these tumors, as a consequence of defective DNA repair mechanisms, chemotherapy as a treatment option often renders very successful results. During our scientific study of the expression of genes responsible for mismatch repair of DNA in cells of invasive ductal carcinoma we also compared the patient survival rate with the major prognostic factors. This study included 108 patients who were surgically treated for invasive breast cancer at the Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, University Hospital »Dubrava«. The overall survival rate was compared to factors such as initial tumor stage, regional lymph node involvement and distant metastasis. The overall five year survival rate of our patients was 78,7%. Patients without the presence of distant metastasis, a lower rate of local lymph node involvement and a lower tumor stage statistically had a longer overall survival period. It is important that physicians recognize the various clinico-pathohistological factors in patients with breast carcinoma. This study confirms that this prognostic factors determine the type of treatment required and most important, the patient overall survival period.