Background & objective: The prognosis of breast cancer patients with liver metastasis is poor. How to improve treatment efficacy and prolong survival of these patients is a challenge in clinic. This study was to explore the efficacy of chemotherapy and transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) on breast cancer patients with liver metastasis, and analyze prognostic factors.
Methods: Clinical data of 98 breast cancer patients with liver metastasis, treated from 1996 to 2005 in Cancer Center of Sun Yat-sen University, were analyzed retrospectively. The prognostic factors correlated to clinical features and treatment approaches were determined using Cox multivariate model.
Results: The total response rate was 45.9% for all patients, 48.6% for the 74 patients received systemic chemotherapy, 23.1% for the 13 patients received TACE, and 54.6% for the 11 patients received chemotherapy plus TACE. At a median follow-up of 17 months (3-56 months), the 1-, 2-, 3-, and 4-year survival rates were 36%, 19%, 13%, and 3%, respectively; the median survival was 17 months (3-56 months), and the progression-free survival was 6 months (0-50 months).
Conclusion: The combination of systemic chemotherapy and TACE may prolong the survival of breast cancer patients with liver metastasis.