Abstract
It has been demonstrated in animal models that tumors of the same organ or tissues share common antigens. Based on these findings, it is believed that previous exposure to carcinoma can lead to an enhanced immunologic response to a second independently developing carcinoma. To test this hypothesis, a retrospective study evaluating the long-term survival of patients with nonsynchronous bilateral breast cancer was undertaken. The survival figures of those patients with independently developing nonsynchronous carcinomas with no evidence of regional metastasis show five- and ten-year survivals comparable for unilateral stage A carcinomas. However, in those patients with evidence of axillary metastasis, the combined five year survival figures were 74 percent with a ten year survival rate of 66 percent. These figures reflect a significant improvement over the five- and ten-year survival of a comparable group of unilateral stage B carcinomas.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 908-910 |
Number of pages | 3 |
Journal | New York State Journal of Medicine |
Volume | 80 |
Issue number | 6 |
State | Published - 1980 |
Externally published | Yes |