Blood transfusion and disease-free survival in carcinoma of the breast.

A retrospective study was undertaken to determine the effect of perioperative blood transfusion on disease-free survival rates in patients with carcinoma of the breast. The charts of 81 patients participating in a NSABP breast cancer protocol at The Mt. Sinai Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio, were reviewed. There was no statistically significant difference in disease-free survival between those patients receiving blood transfusions and those that did not when considering the entire group of patients or subgroups based upon age, nodal status, estrogen receptor status, or progesterone receptor status. However, the subgroup of patients receiving tamoxifen chemotherapy, especially those with positive estrogen receptors, had significantly reduced disease-free survival (P less than .05) when given blood transfusions. These results suggest an adverse effect of blood transfusion on disease-free survival in breast cancer patients treated with tamoxifen chemotherapy.