Mapping significant clinical factors to relapse-free survival prognosis in breast cancer patients

Abstract

This study explores the role of clinical factors in influencing relapse-free survival (RFS) in breast cancer patients through comprehensive survival analysis (SA). The data were derived from a large cohort of breast cancer patients, encompassing clinical variables such as age at diagnosis, tumor size, number of positive lymph nodes, tumor grade, histological subtype, and receipt of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Analytical methods included Kaplan-Meier plots, log-rank tests, Cox proportional hazards modeling, and feature ranking based on univariate and multivariate log-rank and Cox tests. The results show that patients who received chemotherapy demonstrated a shorter median RFS compared to those who did not (102.7 vs. 145.0 months, p = 0.03), likely due to high-risk patients being selected for chemotherapy. Meanwhile, radiotherapy was associated with improved prognosis (hazard ratio (HR) < 1 in Cox model, p < 10−5), in line with meta-analyses showing reduced breast cancer mortality post-radiotherapy. The contribution maps the key clinical determinants of RFS in breast cancer and highlights the practicality of performing SA.