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Improvements in breast cancer testing and treatment result in greater survivability

Category: Breast

Breast cancer has become much more treatable in recent years, as a recent study has found that five- and 10-year survival rates are improving. Researchers said that advancements in cancer testing are among the leading causes of this.

A team of investigators from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center examined the medical records of nearly 57,000 women who were diagnosed with breast cancer dating back to 1944. They discovered a consistent increase in survival rates.

For example, the study found that the 10-year survival rate for breast cancer in 1944 was 3.3 percent. That number jumped to 22.2 percent for the decade of 1995 to 2004. Researchers said that a number of factors, including improved cancer tests, are at the heart of these gains.

"This dramatic shift is a true testament to not only breast cancer's overall research and clinical milestones - improved chemotherapies, addition of new drugs, improvement of endocrine therapies and more recently biologics - but to the appropriate and disciplined approach and utilization of these therapies," said Aman Buzdar, who led the study.