Research: Majority of women with early-stage breast cancer could expect to become ‘long-term survivors’

A research study has revealed that the majority of women diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer have a high likelihood of becoming “long-term survivors.” The study, conducted on a large scale, found that for certain women, the risk of dying within five years was as low as 0.2 percent.

According to The Guardian, doctors have observed a significant increase in the survival rates of women with breast cancer since the 1990s.

Cancer Research UK, the sponsor of the study, has described the results as “heartwarming” and reassuring for breast cancer patients.

The researchers, led by academics from the University of Oxford, tracked the survival rates of 500,000 English women diagnosed with breast cancer between 1993 and 2015. The focus was primarily on cases where the cancer had not spread beyond the breast.

After five years of diagnosis, which is when the risk of dying from breast cancer is highest, the patients were monitored to determine their mortality risk.

In comparison to women diagnosed in the 1990s, those diagnosed between 2010 and 2015 had a 66 percent lower chance of dying from the disease within five years.

For women diagnosed between 1993 and 1999, the probability of dying within five years of diagnosis was 14.4 percent.

Dr. Carolyn Taylor, the lead author of the paper and a professor of oncology at Oxford Population Health, stated that the study’s findings were good news for the majority of women diagnosed with early breast cancer today, as their prognosis has significantly improved.

The study’s results can also be used to estimate the risk for individual women in clinical settings. Dr. Taylor expressed hope that future research could further reduce breast cancer death rates for women diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer.

Specialists believe that new treatments, improved radiation, enhanced breast screening, and research on diverse breast cancer features have contributed to the increase in survival rates.

Cancer Research UK noted that this study was the first of its kind to comprehensively track patient and cancer characteristics over a long follow-up period, providing physicians with accurate prognostic information.