Tumor location is a prognostic factor for survival of Chinese women with T1-2N0M0 breast cancer

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of primary tumor location on the survival of Chinese women with T1-2N0M0 breast cancer.

Methods: The clinical data of 1044 patients with stage T1-2N0M0 breast cancer who were treated from 1999 to 2007 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were divided according to the primary tumor location: upper-outer quadrant (UOQ), upper-inner quadrant (UIQ), lower-outer quadrant (LOQ), lower-inner quadrant (LIQ), and nipple and central breast (central). The effect of primary tumor location on recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) were determined.

Results: The median age at diagnosis was 47 years. The tumor was located in the UOQ in 524 patients (50.2%), the LOQ in 124 (11.9%), the UIQ in 229 (21.9%), the LIQ in 59 (5.7%), and centrally in 108 patients (10.3%). The 5- and 10-year RFS and OS of the LIQ group were significantly poorer than that of patients in the other groups (RFS: 72.1% vs. 82.2-86.7%, P = 0.041; OS: 73.6% vs. 85.3-89.1%, P = 0.024). Multivariate Cox analysis showed that primary tumor location in the LIQ was an independent prognostic factor for RFS (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.977; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.219-7.273; P = 0.017) and OS (HR = 2.949; 95% CI 1.207-7.208; P = 0.018).

Conclusion: Primary tumor location is an important prognostic factor for survival of Chinese women with T1-2N0M0 breast cancer.