Breast cancer is a significant health issue both globally and within China. Here, we present epidemiological data for female patients diagnosed with
breast cancer and treated at West China Hospital, Sichuan University, between 2005 and 2009. Patients who were diagnosed with
breast cancer between 2005 and 2009 were enrolled. Data cut-off in this analysis was October 2013, allowing a minimum of 3 years' follow-up, or follow-up until death. Data were collected and subject to statistical analyses to assess relationships between patient and
cancer characteristics, treatment patterns and long-term outcomes. A total of 2252 women with
breast cancer were included in the analyses.
Luminal B was the most common subtype of
breast cancer and human
epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2)-positive (nonluminal) was the least common. Most patients had early-stage disease (stage ≤IIIa) at diagnosis. Patients with
luminal A appeared to have the best overall survival (OS), compared with other subtypes.
Hormone-receptor positivity was associated with improved prognosis, compared with negativity (OS hazard ratio [HR] 0.5). Late-stage compared with early-stage disease at diagnosis was associated with much poorer OS across all patients and
tumor subtypes. Clear differences were apparent between
breast cancer subtypes and the response to treatment. The interaction of
breast cancer subtypes, treatments and disease stage is complex. One of the most important factors for improved prognosis is diagnosis and treatment at an early-stage of disease. With
breast cancer becoming an increasingly important health concern, this highlights the importance of establishing systems and protocols to identify and treat patients with
breast cancer as early as possible.