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The highest risk of recurrence is within the first five years after diagnosis. Doctors assess your risk of recurrence by using factors such as:
- Cancer cells in the lymph nodes in the underarm area: Surgeons often remove some of these nodes to see if cancer cells are present. If there are cancer cells in your lymph nodes (node-positive), you are more likely to have a recurrence than if there are no cancer cells in your nodes (node-negative).
- Size of the tumor: In most cases, the smaller the tumor, the lower the risk for recurrence.
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- Cancer grade: Doctors use a microscope to determine how cancer cells look. The more cancer cells resemble normal cells, the lower the grade and the lower the risk of recurrence.
- Cell growth rate: Cancer cells that grow more slowly are linked to a lower risk of recurrence.
- Hormone receptor status: A hormone receptor is a place on the tumor where hormones, like estrogen and progesterone, can connect to the tumor. When these receptors are present, the tumor cells may depend on these hormones for growth. In most cases, women whose tumors are hormone receptor-positive have a lower risk of recurrence than women whose tumors are hormone receptor-negative.
For further information about how hormone receptor status affects risk of recurrence, see Managing risk of recurrence with hormonal treatment.
