{"id":32972,"date":"2023-06-13T09:00:27","date_gmt":"2023-06-13T09:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.cancerresearchuk.org\/?p=25796"},"modified":"2024-11-03T15:12:45","modified_gmt":"2024-11-03T15:12:45","slug":"breast-cancer-mortality-down-66-in-20-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/breast-cancer-mortality-down-66-in-20-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Breast cancer mortality down 66% in 20 years"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"A<\/div>\n

Today, more than 90% of women diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer will survive the disease for 5 years or more. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s thanks to research. And to the people who take part.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Between 1993 and 2015, more than half a million women in England were diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer. Not only did they face something life-changing, they also helped change things for the better.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how. Patients can choose to share their NHS health data, which researchers can apply to use to track trends over time. 512,447 women contributed their information to a groundbreaking study we funded into breast cancer mortality in England since the early 1990s. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

This is what they showed us: women in England diagnosed with early breast cancer today are 66% less likely to die from the disease within the first 5 years than they were 20 years ago. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe prognosis for patients with breast cancer has improved,\u201d says oncologist and senior author Dr David Dodwell, from the University of Oxford\u2019s Department of Population Health. \u201cAnd that improvement is dramatic.\u201d<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s put it another way. In the late 1990s, the average 5-year risk of dying from breast cancer after being diagnosed with the disease in its early stages was 1 in 7. Now it\u2019s 1 in 20.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur general feeling that things are getting better has been confirmed,\u201d continues Dodwell. \u201cAnd not only that: we can probably be more optimistic than we had dared to hope.\u201d<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

We can use that optimism now as much as ever. There\u2019s still much more to do.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Connecting doctors and patients<\/h2>\n

This is the first study of its size to follow up patients for an extended period, and to map out how detailed characteristics of specific patients and their cancers relate to different outcomes. That means it does much more than tell us about the past.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur study can be used to estimate risk for individual women in the clinic today,\u201d explains Professor Carolyn Taylor, lead author of the study. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt gives doctors the data they need to make predictions, or prognoses, for women diagnosed with early breast cancer. These prognoses can help women understand their situation and plan their futures.\u201d<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

The power of prognosis<\/h2>\n

Doctors told Mairead Mackenzie she had breast cancer in 2002. Hilary Stobart received the same news in 2009. <\/span><\/p>\n

They\u2019re just two of the women who contributed their data to the study. In the years since, they\u2019ve become passionate patient advocates and leading members of the charity Independent Cancer Patients\u2019 Voice<\/a>. They didn\u2019t just feature in this research: they helped shape it, making sure the researchers focused on the questions that matter most to people with breast cancer.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

At the time of their diagnoses, though, neither knew how to react.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhenever you get a cancer diagnosis<\/a>, it\u2019s a terrifying moment in your life,\u201d says Mairead. \u201cInitially, everybody thinks they\u2019re going to die next week, but studies like this one can give reassurance to patients about their life ahead. And now, women with breast cancer have a much better chance of surviving.\u201d<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Being diagnosed with breast cancer<\/h2>\n

Hilary didn\u2019t have data like this to reassure her. She remembers the \u201cdark night of the soul\u201d she went through after her radiologist told her that it was very likely she had cancer.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hilary was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009.<\/p>

” data-medium-file=”https:\/\/news.cancerresearchuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/hilary-3.jpg” data-large-file=”https:\/\/news.cancerresearchuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/hilary-3.jpg” decoding=”async” class=”wp-image-25805 size-full” src=”https:\/\/news.cancerresearchuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/hilary-3.jpg” alt=”Hilary Stobart” width=”200″ height=”300″ srcset=”https:\/\/news.cancerresearchuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/hilary-3.jpg 200w, https:\/\/news.cancerresearchuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/hilary-3-150×225.jpg 150w” sizes=”(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px”><\/p>

Hilary was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThat was the appointment where my world fell in.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEnded up sobbing in the car park \u2013 my husband wasn\u2019t there \u2013 ringing my husband. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI spent the next week or so waiting for the results to come back and worrying about whether I\u2019d have to have chemotherapy or not. But, in actual fact, I was never going to have it. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI would have wanted to know the facts earlier. I just think we need more information.\u201d<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s exactly what this study provides. It can help guide women diagnosed with breast cancer through the darkness Hilary remembers so well.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was diagnosed 20 years ago, I was not given a prognosis other than the fact that this is serious and we need to treat you quickly,\u201d adds Mairead. \u201cBut I think good, clear communication about prognosis can make a vast difference to a patient\u2019s quality of life and how they can cope with things.\u201d<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Understanding breast cancer<\/h2>\n

It can help doctors do their jobs, too. \u201cIn the long term, perhaps the most important thing is that this is much better, more precise new information for clinicians,\u201d says Dodwell. \u201cThey can use it to reflect on the discussions that they have with patients.\u201d<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Hilary and Mairead agree. They both stress that doctors need to help patients understand that breast cancer is \u201cnot all one thing\u201d.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople diagnosed with breast cancer may already know somebody who has died from it,\u201d explains Hilary. \u201cThey could assume that they\u2019re in the same position, but their risk of dying from it within 5 years might be less than 1%.\u201d<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s because some breast cancers are easier to treat with new targeted drugs. The size of tumours, and whether they have spread into the lymph nodes, can make a big difference to someone\u2019s prognosis, too. And screening helps find breast cancers at very early stages, making it more likely that treatment will be successful.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

For example, a patient in her 50s with a small, low-grade, hormone receptor positive breast cancer which hasn\u2019t spread to the lymph nodes can be strongly reassured by the results of the study. They show that she has an excellent prognosis.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, 95% of people diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer today will survive the disease for at least 5 years. Overall survival is slightly lower because some people in the study died of other causes within that time.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\n

How research has improved breast cancer survival<\/h2>\n