Department of Oncology-Pathology, Radiumhemmet, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital, 17176, Stockholm, Sweden, theodoros.foukakis@ki.se.
Treatment of metastatic breast cancer (MBC) has evolved during the last decades but it is largely unknown whether this has led to improved survival in the general MBC population. Based on the regional, population-based breast cancer registry, we identified 5,463 patients diagnosed with MBC in Stockholm County during 1979-2004. Patients were divided into five cohorts based on the year of first MBC diagnosis and observed and relative survival were compared across the cohorts after adjustment for potential confounders. A significant trend of better survival over time was demonstrated for patients 60 years or younger (P
