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Breast Cancer Staging

Stages
1. Stage 1
  1. Tumor <=2 cm with no lymph node metastasis
2. Stage 2
  1. Tumor >2 cm or positive lymph nodes
3. Stage 3
  1. Locally advanced Breast Cancer (Skin or Chest wall)
4. Stage 4
  1. Metastatic Breast Cancer (Lung, Liver, Bones, Brain)
Prognosis
1. Stage 1:
  1. Five year survival: 90%
2. Stage 2
  1. Five year survival: <60%
  2. Seven Year survival
    1. One to three nodes positive: 60%
    2. Over 3 nodes positive: 38%
3. Reference:
  1. (1988) NIH Publication No. 88-2789
  2. Fisher (1983) Cancer 52:1551
Methods
1. Sentinel Node Breast Biopsy
  1. Recommended even in favorable Breast Cancer subtypes
    1. Wong (2002) Am J Surg 184:492
2. Axillary Node dissection
  1. Conventional staging procedure
  2. Complications
    1. Numbness in axillae
    2. Hand and arm Lymphedema (may be severe)

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This page was written by Scott Moses, MD. This page was last revised before 5/10/08, prior to consistent tracking of revision date. This page was last published on 5/10/2008. Please send comments and questions to the editor. Contact information may be found on the page About the Family Practice Notebook. These pages are best viewed with Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0.