Clinical assessment of 324 breast cancer cases in two centers between the years of 1992 and 2002.

The records of the 324 patients with breast cancer; diagnosed and followed in two different University Hospital between years of January 1992 and January 2002 were reviewed retrospectively. The median age of the patients was 49.0+/-12.5 years, with the range of 18 and 90 years. The most frequently seen age interval of the patients was 40 and 49 years. The most frequently seen symptom and physical examination finding of the patients were breast mass. Breast cancer was diagnosed in 324 women, 173 in the left breast and 151 in the right breast. At the hospital admission percentages of the patients' disease stages were as follows: I (2.8%), IIA (30.0%), IIB (24.0%), IIIA (19.8%), IIIB (11.4) and IV (12.0%). The most frequently seen histopathological diagnosis was infiltrative ductal carcinoma (84.4%). Axillary lymph node metastasis was found in 61.7% of the patients. Primary therapeutic options and percentages were surgical therapy (78.5%), systemic chemotherapy (17.5%) and radiotherapy (4%). Systemic chemotherapy was given to 81.2% of the patients. From the files, estrogen receptor status was known in 311 and positive in 128 (41.2%) of them. Tamoxifen was given patients who had positive estrogen receptor. The five-year survival rate of the patients was calculated as 75.9%.