Although any histologic type of breast cancer can spread regionally and systemically, studies of recurrence rates indicate that the subtype of breast cancer most likely to recur 5 years after primary diagnosis and treatment is hormone receptor–positive breast cancer. HER2-positive disease and triple-negative disease both have a tendency to recur earlier after initial diagnosis compared with hormone receptor–positive disease, which may relapse 10 years or even longer after primary treatment. Such factors as nodal involvement, disease stage at diagnosis, and treatment are critical in predicting a risk for disease recurrence.
Nevertheless, when triple-negative breast cancer relapses, it has the worst prognosis among all of the histologic breast cancer subtypes.
Learn more about metastatic breast cancer.
Medscape © 2022 WebMD, LLC
Any views expressed above are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of WebMD or Medscape.
Cite this: Stefania Morganti. Fast Five Quiz: Key Aspects of Metastatic Breast Cancer - Medscape - Dec 15, 2022.
Comments