Objective: To explore the clinical characteristics and prognosis of estrogen receptor/progesterone receptor (ER/PR) positive breast cancer (luminal subtype) patients with liver metastases.
Methods: A total of 182 patients with liver metastasis from luminal subtype breast cancer between January 2000 and December 2011 were retrospectively reviewed. Their clinical characteristics, treatments and prognosis were collected and analyzed.
Results: Their median age was 47 years and 118 patients were younger than 50 years old. The median disease-free survival (DFS) after primary operation of breast cancer was 19.5 months. All patients received first-line chemotherapy for liver metastases. Overall response (CR+PR) rate was 60.4% (110/182) . Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 8 and 23 months respectively. The median OS was extended by 7 months in younger patients ( ≤ 50) than in older ones (>50) (P < 0.05). In addition, PFS and OS were also extended by 3 and 7 months in patients with complete and partial responses than those who had stable and progressive diseases (P < 0.05). No difference existed in PFS and OS with or without capecitabine-based regimens(both P > 0.05).
Conclusion: Age and response to treatment are independent prognostic factors for ER and/or PR positive breast cancer patients with liver metastasis.