Long-term survival and prognostic implications of patients with invasive breast cancer in southern Taiwan

Our objective in this study was to determine the survival rate of patients with invasive breast cancer and identify the prognostic factors related to all-cause mortality during a 10-year follow-up. Analysis was performed on the medical records of 2002 patients newly diagnosed with breast cancer at a medical center in southern Taiwan between 2006 and 2017. The Kaplan–Meier method and Cox regression analysis were used to estimate survival and the independence of prognostic factors associated with all-cause mortality. Among the 2002 patients, 257 expired during the 10-year follow-up period. The overall survival rates were as follows: 3 years (91.1%), 5 years (85.6%), and 10 years (77.9%). The median survival time was 120.41 months (95% confidence interval: 118.48–122.33 months). Older age, pathologic tumor status, regional lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis, grade/differentiation, treatment modalities, and hormone therapy were significantly related to all-cause mortality. This study identified several clinical factors related to all-cause mortality as well as its relationship to distant metastasis and poor differentiation. Early diagnosis and treatment aimed at preventing recurrence are the keys to survival.