General
For the prognosis of a breast cancer disease it is crucial in which stage of the disease the patient is. Early detection measures considerably improve the chances of recovery and can be over 90%. This applies to women whose tumour is in an early stage when the diagnosis is made.
In general, the prognosis and thus the chances of recovery from breast cancer also depend on many other factors. The age of the patient, concomitant diseases, aggressiveness and type of breast cancer, as well as lymph node involvement and the presence of metastases all play a role. Whether the tumour reacts sensitively to a therapy with hormone preparations can also be decisive (hormone-dependent breast cancer).
As a rule, the prognosis of cancer is given in the form of the so-called 5-year survival rate (), i.e. the proportion of women who are still alive five years after diagnosis. If the disease is in an early stage, the 5-year survival rate is up to 97%. .
What are the chances of recovery when lymph nodes are affected?
Statistically speaking, one in eight women will develop breast cancer during her lifetime. Many women are therefore very concerned about becoming ill themselves. Those affected often ask themselves what their chances of survival are with the disease and which factors have a decisive influence on survival.
The involvement of the lymph nodes plays a decisive role in breast cancer. Breast cancer metastasizes via the lymph nodes, which is why during breast cancer surgery the surrounding lymph nodes are examined for infestation and removed if necessary. In fact, this so-called lymph node status is the most important prognostic factor in breast cancer.
Tumours that have already affected lymph nodes are classified in the so-called high-risk group. Such a breast cancer has worse chances of healing than a localized tumor that has not yet metastasized. The prognosis worsens with the number of affected lymph nodes.
Lymph node involvement is also very important for the decision on therapy. Tumours that have infiltrated lymph nodes have a higher risk of recurrence, i.e. a relapse. Therefore, more aggressive therapy options are usually used to prevent this.
However, the chances of survival and cure cannot be expressed in numbers, as they depend on many different factors. They must therefore be assessed individually for each woman. If cancer cells are already found in the lymph nodes in the armpit area, this is a sign that the breast cancer is already in a more advanced stage.
Correspondingly, the chance of healing is also lower than with a localised tumour. The 5-year survival rate at this stage is about 81%. Nowadays, the lymph nodes are cleared directly when the tumour is affected, which is why this stage is often still well treatable.
