Changing patterns in the clinical characteristics of Korean patients with breast cancer during the last 15 years

HYPOTHESIS: Breast cancer has become the most common cancer in Korean women in recent years, with continuously increased incidence rates attributed to westernized lifestyles. DESIGN: Retrospective case series evaluating the changing patterns of clinical characteristics in breast cancer during the last 15 years. SETTING: Hospitalized patients with breast cancer in a university medical center. PATIENTS: A total of 5001 breast cancer patients who underwent surgery between July 1989 and March 2004 at the Asan Medical Center. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Clinicopathologic data were collected using the online Korea Breast Cancer Registration Program, including factors such as age, symptoms, stage, surgery, reconstruction, risk factors, and survival. RESULTS: The median age of patients slightly increased from 44 years in 1991 to 46 years in 2003. The most frequent age group was the fifth decade (41.7%) and premenopausal women younger than 50 years (64.9%). The proportion of asymptomatic patients detected by screening mammography increased from 3.8% in 1991 to 21.0% in 2003 (P<.001). The proportion of early breast cancer (stages 0 and I) increased from 34.2% in 1991 to 48.8% in 2003 (P=.013). Breast-conserving surgery has increased continuously from 5.1% in 1991 to 39.1% in 2003 (P<.001). Twelve percent of all patients who underwent mastectomies had immediate reconstruction, and the proportion showed an increasing trend, especially in skin-sparing mastectomy and transverse rectus abdominis myocutaneous flap reconstruction. Five-year observed survival rates were 84.1%. Five-year survival rates according to stages were as follows: (1) 98.5%, stage 0; (2) 95.3%, stage I; (3) 86.0%, stage II; (4) 65.0%, stage III; and (5) 29.3%, stage IV. The number of patients with specific risk factors, such as early menarche and late first delivery, significantly increased. Of 263 high-risk patients examined for the BRCA mutation, mutations were found in 20 patients (7.6%), with 13 cases with BRCA1 and 7 cases with BRCA2. CONCLUSIONS: The present study showed a continuous increase in the number of patients with breast cancer; the proportion of young patients, asymptomatic patients, early breast cancer, breast-conserving surgery, and immediate reconstruction after mastectomy; and the number of patients with risk factors. These results suggest that the clinical characteristics of Korean breast cancer patients reflect the patterns of Western countries.