Education Level Is a Strong Prognosticator in the Subgroup Aged More Than 50 Years Regardless of the Molecular Subtype of Breast Cancer: A Study Based on the Nationwide Korean Breast Cancer Registry Database.
- Author:
Ki Tae HWANG
1
;
Woochul NOH
;
Se Heon CHO
;
Jonghan YU
;
Min Ho PARK
;
Joon JEONG
;
Hyouk Jin LEE
;
Jongjin KIM
;
Sohee OH
;
Young A KIM
Author Information
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords: Breast neoplasms; Education; Educational status; Prognosis; Survival analysis
- MeSH: Breast Neoplasms*; Breast*; Drug Therapy; Education*; Educational Status; Humans; Mastectomy, Segmental; Multivariate Analysis; Prognosis; Survival Analysis
- From:Cancer Research and Treatment 2017;49(4):1114-1126
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
- Abstract: PURPOSE: This study investigated the role of the education level (EL) as a prognostic factor for breast cancer and analyzed the relationship between the EL and various confounding factors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The data for 64,129 primary breast cancer patients from the Korean Breast Cancer Registry were analyzed. The EL was classified into two groups according to the education period; the high EL group (≥ 12 years) and low EL group (< 12 years). Survival analyses were performed with respect to the overall survival between the two groups. RESULTS: A high EL conferred a superior prognosis compared to a low EL in the subgroup aged > 50 years (hazard ratio, 0.626; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.577 to 0.678) but not in the subgroup aged ≤ 50 years (hazard ratio, 0.941; 95% CI, 0.865 to 1.024). The EL was a significant independent factor in the subgroup aged > 50 years according to multivariate analyses. The high EL group showed more favorable clinicopathologic features and a higher proportion of patients in this group received lumpectomy, radiation therapy, and endocrine therapy. In the high EL group, a higher proportion of patients received chemotherapy in the subgroups with unfavorable clinicopathologic features. The EL was a significant prognosticator across all molecular subtypes of breast cancer. CONCLUSION: The EL is a strong independent prognostic factor for breast cancer in the subgroup aged > 50 years regardless of the molecular subtype, but not in the subgroup aged ≤ 50 years. Favorable clinicopathologic features and active treatments can explain the main causality of the superior prognosis in the high EL group.
