Results of treatment of stage I–III breast cancer in Black Americans. The Cook County Hospital experience, 1973‐1987

Whether the prognosis for black women with breast cancer differs from that of nonblack women remains controversial. The treatment results of 526 black women who received definitive therapy for Stage I‐III breast cancer at Cook County Hospital, 1973 through 1987 are presented. The 5‐year and 10‐year projected survival rates for 272 node‐negative patients (83.9% and 76.6%, respectively) and for 72 node‐positive nonadjuvant treated patients (58.1% and 35.2%, respectively) are similar to those reported in the literature for nonblack patients. Adjuvant therapy improved the projected relapse‐free (P = 0.0744) and overall survival curves (P = 0.0448) for 182 node‐positive patients compared with nonadjuvant patients. The greatest benefit was seen for patients > 50 years of age with one to three positive nodes. The incidence of estrogen and progesterone receptors was found to be similar to those reported for nonblack patients. Once breast cancer has been diagnosed and appropriately treated, there appear to be few differences in the natural history of breast cancer between black and nonblack patients.