Abstract
BackgroundAdjuvant! Online ( http://www.adjuvantonline.com) is an Internet-based software program that allows clinicians to make predictions about the benefits of adjuvant therapy and 10-year survival probability for early-stage breast cancer patients. This model has been validated in Western countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, and Holland. The aim of our study was to investigate the performance and accuracy of Adjuvant! Online in a cohort of Taiwanese breast cancer patients.MethodsData on the prognostic factors and clinical outcomes of 559 breast cancer patients diagnosed at the National Cheng Kung University Hospital in Tainan between 1992 and 2001 were enrolled in the study. Comprehensive demographic, clinical outcome data, and adjuvant treatment data were entered into the Adjuvant! Online program. The outcome prediction at 10 years was compared with the observed and predicted outcomes using Adjuvant! Online.ResultsComparison between low- and high-risk breast cancer patient subgroups showed significant differences in tumor grading, tumor size, and lymph node status (p < 0.0001). The mean 10-year predicted death probability in 559 patients was 19.44%, and the observed death probability was 15.56%. Comparison with the Adjuvant! Online-predicted breast cancer-specific survival (BCSS) showed significant differences in the whole cohort (p < 0.001). In the low-risk subgroup, the predicted and observed outcomes did not differ significantly (3.69% and 3.85%, respectively). In high-risk patients, Adjuvant! Online overestimated breast cancer-specific survival (p = 0.016); the predicted and observed outcomes were 21.99% and 17.46%, respectively.ConclusionsAdjuvant! Online accurately predicted 10-year outcomes and assisted in decision making about adjuvant treatment in low-risk breast cancer patients in our study, although the results were less accurate in the high-risk subgroup. Development of a prognostic program based on a national database should be considered, especially for high-risk breast cancer patients in Taiwan.
Highlights
Adjuvant! Online is an Internet-based software program that allows clinicians to make predictions about the benefits of adjuvant therapy and 10-year survival probability for early-stage breast cancer patients
The aims of our study were to validate the accuracy of Adjuvant! Online, to predict outcomes in different patient groups, and to distinguish individuals who will need different prediction methods in a cohort of Taiwanese patients with breast cancer treated at a multidisciplinary tumor board in a university hospital
Adjuvant! Online underestimated the mortality risk in the high-risk subgroup of Taiwanese breast cancer patients. Considering this discrepancy, we suggest that a correction factor of 1.259 might be justified for high-risk patients
Summary
Adjuvant! Online (www.adjuvantonline.com) is an Internet-based software program that allows clinicians to make predictions about the benefits of adjuvant therapy and 10-year survival probability for early-stage breast cancer patients. Online (www.adjuvantonline.com) is an Internet-based software program that allows clinicians to make predictions about the benefits of adjuvant therapy and 10-year survival probability for early-stage breast cancer patients. This model has been validated in Western countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, and Holland. Yao-Lung et al BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making 2012, 12:108 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6947/12/108 help to inform patients and allow them to choose a more individualized treatment strategy based on a number of prognostic factors. Online is a Web-based, open-access computer program that predicts patient outcome at 10 years in breast cancer patients [10]. The program analyzed the outcome of 10-year survival probabilities, risk of relapse, and survival using patient information and tumor characteristics such as age, tumor size, tumor grade, estrogen receptor (ER) status, and lymph node status [11]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
