Five-year survival rate and prognostic factors in women with breast cancer treated at a reference hospital in the Brazilian Amazon

Abstract

Breast cancer is the most prevalent malignant neoplasm and the leading cause cancer of death among women globally. In Brazil, survival rates vary according to the region and few studies have been conducted on breast cancer survival in less developed areas, such as the Amazon region. The aim of this study was to analyze the five-year survival rate and prognostic factors in women treated for breast cancer in the city of Belém in northern Brazil. A retrospective hospital-based cohort study was conducted (2007–2013). Sociodemographic, clinical/tumor, and treatment variables were obtained from the records at the Ophir Loyola Hospital. Survival analysis involved the Kaplan-Meier statistical method and Cox regression analysis was performed. The significance level was 5% (p <0.05). A total of 1,430 cases were analyzed. Mean survival time was 51.71 (± 17.22) months, with an estimated overall survival of 79.4%. In the multivariate analysis, referral from the public health care system, advanced clinical stage, lymph node involvement and metastasis were associated with worse prognosis and lower survival rate. Radiotherapy and hormone therapy were associated with increased survival. These findings can contribute to the development of regional strategies for early detection of breast cancer, reducing the incidence and mortality rates and increasing survival time.