What are the chances of cure for the individual breast cancers? | Subtypes of breast cancer

What are the chances of cure for the individual breast cancers?

It is difficult to predict the chances of cure specifically for each type of breast cancer, since the interaction of many factors is ultimately decisive for the prognosis of breast cancer. A distinction is made between so-called favourable and unfavourable factors that are directly related to the disease. Apart from the type of breast cancer, the patient’s condition also plays a major role.

Other pre-existing conditions worsen the chances of a cure for breast cancer, whereas an otherwise good general condition is more likely to have a favourable effect. The 5-year survival rate of women with breast cancer is about 88%. This means that 88 out of 100 women diagnosed with breast cancer are still alive after 5 years.

For men, the survival rate is slightly worse at 76%. This is because men often suffer from more aggressive forms of breast cancer than women. There are no exact data on the chances of cure or survival rates of individual breast cancers, but factors can be narrowed down that improve or worsen the chances of cure.

Three risk groups are distinguished, which are also very important for therapy decisions. The first group – low-risk breast cancer – includes tumours that have a better chance of cure than other types of breast cancer. For breast cancer to belong to the low-risk category, certain criteria must be met.

No lymph nodes may be affected and the tumour size must be less than 2 cm. Lymph nodes must always be considered unfavourable and the chances of recovery are reduced. Furthermore, no vessels may be affected, as there is then a risk of rapid metastasis – i.e. spreading of the cancer.

A patient over the age of 35 is considered favourable. Younger women with breast cancer are usually carriers of a certain gene mutation (BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation), which can lead to various types of cancer at a young age. Furthermore, the degree of tumour degeneration (“grading”) plays an important role.

Tumours that are assigned to the low-risk group have the degree of degeneration G1. This means that the tumour cells are still very similar to the original tissue. The higher the degree of degeneration of the tumour, the worse its chances of healing.

For some years now, breast cancer has been examined for its so-called hormone receptor status. Tumours with many hormone receptors have a better chance of cure because they respond well to therapy with certain drugs. However, one particular receptor, the Her2 receptor, has an unfavourable effect on survival.

Tumours that have the Her2 receptor are more aggressive than those that are negative for this receptor. Apart from the low-risk group, there is also an intermediate and a high-risk group. The latter show rather poor chances of cure and are characterized by lymph node involvement or other unfavorable factors, such as the absence of hormone receptors or the presence of the Her2 receptor.

The healing tendency of a breast cancer disease is a very individual matter and results from the interaction of many factors. Therefore, it cannot be given in general terms for each individual type of breast cancer. However, favourable and unfavourable constellations can be distinguished. These articles may also be of interest to you:

  • Cure chances for breast cancer
  • Prognosis for breast cancer
  • The breast cancer gene