What's worse: larger tumor or 1 involved lymph node?

Yours is the 64 million dollar question that no one can really answer. Some women with many nodes and large rumors never recur and some with small rumors and no lymph nodes will. no one really knows as there are so many variables. We want answers but we don't get them and it is so hard.

Every few years I like to check back in here. I was and still am so grateful for this board that was such a comfort to me so many years ago.

In answer to your question I was DX in 2003 with a 5 to 6cm tumor with no lymph nodes involvement.I had radiation,masectomy, and 6 years of Arimidex. So far I am still NED.

This disease is so unpredicatble that I don't think it is even possible to say one thing is better than the other.I have strong faith and totally believe it is all in GOD's hands and wherever we are is right where HE intends us to be.

I'd say involved nodes is worse

It is a crap shoot.

I've read the large tumors with no nodes can sometimes be a "gentle giant." I think that was my mom's case. She was premenopausal, had a large 6.5cm tumor, a L mastectomy and no other treatment. She is alive and well 29yrs later at age 83. I am a 5yr survivor and hoping to make it to 80++

Julie

T3N0M0 Breast cancer patients: A subgroup with favorable prognosis


    MURAT GÜRKAYNAK, FERAH YILDIZ, Ý. LALE ATAHAN


    Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Radiation Oncology, Ankara-Turkey




    The true pathological T3N0M0 breast cancer is a rare
disease with surprisingly good survival rate. In this retrospective
study we tried to evaluate the possible prognostic
factors in pT3N0M0 breast cancer patients and to compare
them with pT3N1M0 and pT1-2N0M0 patients. Between
December 1993 and December 1998, 444 patients without
any distant metastases were treated at our department. A
total of 194 patients were staged as pT3. Among them 40
were pT3N0 and 154 were pT3N1. One hundred patients
were staged as pT1-2N0. The 3-year overall (OS) and
disease free survival rates (DFS) for T3N0M0 patients with
a median follow-up time of 38 months are 100% and 90%,
respectively. There was no statistically significant DFS and
OS difference between T1-2N0 and T3N0 patients. A significant
DFS, distant metastasis free survival (DMFS) advantage
was observed in T3N0 subgroup when compared to T3N1
patients. Although not significant, there was a strong trend
for OS in favor of T3N0M0 patients as well (p=0.09). For
T3 patients, the metastatic lymph node ratio (LNR: number
of metastatic lymph nodes/total number of lymph nodes
dissected) significantly affected both DFS and DMFS; however
there was no significant survival difference between
0% and 1-25% LNR groups both in terms of DFS and DMFS.
These results suggest that T3N0M0 breast cancer patients
treated by postoperative radiotherapy and chemotherapy
have a fairly good outcome comparable to T1-2N0M0
patients. A subgroup of T3N1 patients with less than 25%
lymph node involvement seems to behave similarly to T3N0
patients.