ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Bone is the most frequent site of metastasis among breast cancer patients. We investigated prognostic factors affecting survival following bone-only metastasis in breast cancer patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The medical records of breast cancer patients who were treated and followed at Gangnam Severance Hospital retrospectively reviewed to identify patients with bone-only metastasis. RESULTS: The median time from the diagnosis of bone-only metastasis to the last follow-up or death was 55.2 [95% confidence interval (CI), 38.6-71.9] months. The Kaplan-Meier overall survival estimate at 10 years for all patients was 34.9%. In the multivariate Cox regression model, bisphosphonate treatment [hazard ratio=0.18; 95% CI, 0.07-0.43], estrogen receptor positivity (hazard ratio=0.51; 95% CI, 0.28-0.94), and solitary bone metastasis (hazard ratio=0.32; 95% CI, 0.14-0.72) were significantly associated with longer overall survival in the bone-only recurrence group. Among the treatment modalities, only bisphosphonate treatment was identified as a significant prognostic factor. CONCLUSION: Identifying the factors influencing breast cancer mortality after bone-only metastasis will help clarify the clinical course and improve the treatment outcome for patients with breast cancer and bone-only metastasis. Bisphosphonates, as a significant prognostic factor, warrant further investigation.