Experiences with after care of patients with breast cancer

We retrospectively analyzed methods of follow-up and subsequent clinical outcome in 399 breast cancer patients treated with curative intent. Radioisotope liver scans, liver sonograms and laboratory investigations were of little value in detecting metastases. Mammography detected 2 of 6 contralateral breast cancers in an asymptomatic stage. Of 92 metastatic diseases, 24 were disclosed by a total of 871 radioisotope bone scans, and 17 were disclosed by a total of 2409 chest x-rays. The detection of distant metastases in an asymptomatic stage by diagnostic procedures vs detection by symptoms was not correlated with a survival benefit. The survival times for the two groups were 6.4 years vs 6.7 years (p = 0.7) after initiation of primary therapy, and 20.8 vs 20.4 months (p = 0.9) after the diagnosis of metastatic disease. Our study does not lend support to the hypothesis that the detection of metastatic disease in an asymptomatic stage or regular follow-up visits are associated with a survival benefit. We conclude that clinical history, physical examination, and mammography are the most important procedures in the follow-up of breast cancer patients.