Omitted were 132 patients whose cancer recurred less than 6 months after initial diagnosis. Another 72 patients were omitted who had no follow-up. Survival was judged from the time of relapse to last contact or death. As of June 1988 there were 1207 deaths with a median follow-up after relapse of 2.3 years. Thirty five patients were alive more than ten years after relapse.
Estrogen receptors are protein on the cancer's surface that tends to predict prognosis.
Presence of these proteins is favorable. Disease-free interval was 2.2 years. Most patients had been diagnosed before 1984 and did not receive chemotherapy. Included were sites of relapse, number of axillary lymph nodes and hormonal receptor status. The likelihood of death after relapse doubled in women who had distant relapse compared to local relapse.