Clinical Analysis of Breast Cancer Surgeries in Korea

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: In Korea, the incidence of breast cancer is continuously growing year after year, and it has become the second most common cancer in females following stomach cancer. This study analyzed the clinical results of 2,101 breast cancer surgeries performed in Korea. METHODS: 2,101 breast cancer surgeries were performed between Mar. 1989 and Dec. 1999 at the Breast Clinic in Asan Medical Center. RESULTS: Of 2,101 patients, 2,085 cases were female (99.2%), and 16 cases were male (0.8%). The mean age of the patients was 46 and 65% of them were under the age of 50. A radical mastectomy was performed in 1.0% of cases, a modified radical mastectomy in 75.4%, a simple mastectomy in 4.1%, breast-conserving surgery in 15.5%, and other procedures in 3.9%. Immediate breast reconstruction was performed in 136 cases (tissue expander in 61 cases, direct implant in 10 cases, transverse rectus abdominis muscle (TRAM) flap in 62 cases, and latissimus dorsi myocutaneous flap in 3 cases). The majority of reconstruction was changed to skin-sparing mastectomy (SSM) with TRAM flap. According to TNM classification, there were 156 cases (7.4%) of stage 0, 538 cases (25.6%) of stage I, 1,062 cases (50.6%) of stage II, 241 cases (11.5%) of stage III, 65 cases (3.1%) of stage IV, and 39 cases (1.9%) of an unknown stage. The axillary lymph node metastasis was present in 43.2%. The 5-year overall and disease-free survival rates were 83.1% and 76.7%, respectively. CONCLUSION: This study shows several features suggesting that the peak age of breast cancer in Korea is younger than that seen in western countries and that the types of Korean breast cancer tend to be similar to western patterns.