Researchers suggest updating the staging criteria for breast cancer diagnoses

the Oncology Nurse Advisor take:

Study findings from Fox Chase Cancer Center offer relatively optimistic news for women with breast cancer whose disease has spread to the chest wall or skin, but not beyond. These tumors are classified as stage III and are referred to as locally advanced tumors. This classification suggests the tumor is a serious form of cancer and prognosis is poor. The researchers at Fox Chase found that survival rates for women with breast cancers involving the skin vary widely based on the tumor size and nodal involvement. Overall 5-year survival for stage III cancers is 41% to 67%. These study findings suggest that some women with tumors that spread to the skin may actually have a 96% chance of surviving 5 years. Based on their findings, the Fox Chase team recommends adding a staging category to tumors with skin involvement, and using criteria such as tumor size and presence of lymph node metastasis to determine stage instead of skin involvement.