A retrospective series of long-term survivors of metastatic breast cancer in complete remission

Aim: To describe clinical features, treatment modalities and long-term outcome of patients with overt metastatic breast cancer in complete remission for more than 5 years. Patients and Methods: A retrospective survey of 12 patients who were referred to a single institution from 1982 to 1995. Results: The majority of the long-term survivors had a good performance status, endocrine-responsive disease and a single metastatic site. Ten patients had received chemotherapy, 8 patients hormone therapy, and 2 patients had been treated with surgery followed by systemic therapies. At a median follow-up of 11.7 years, 10 of the 12 patients were still in complete remission. The median duration of complete remission was 9.2 years ( range 5.0 - 15.7 years). Conclusions: This case series confirms that only a few metastatic breast cancer patients could potentially be cured with multidisciplinary treatments. Copyright (C) 2005 S. Karger AG, Basel.