Don't Underestimate Early Hormone-Positive Breast Cancer, Doctor Says: Recurrence Risk Up to 20 Years
Doctors warn against the misconception that early hormone-positive breast cancer is safe without lymph node metastasis or after surviving 5 years, as over half of patients may recur after 5 years, with recurrence risk extending up to 20 years. The Ministry of Health and Welfare and Taiwan Breast Cancer Society are promoting screening.
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- 📰 Published: May 5, 2026 at 14:44
- 🔍 Collected: May 5, 2026 at 15:01 (17 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 5, 2026 at 15:14 (13 min after Collected)
Central News Agency
(Central News Agency reporter Chen Chieh-ling, Taipei, 5th) The fatal misconceptions that "no lymph node metastasis means safety" and "surviving breast cancer for 5 years means complete recovery and graduation" are being addressed by doctors. They remind that despite early hormone-positive breast cancer developing relatively mildly, over half of patients may recur after 5 years, and the recurrence risk can last up to 20 years.
Breast cancer has long been the leading cause of cancer incidence among Taiwanese women, with a persistently high mortality threat. The Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) and the Taiwan Breast Cancer Society have teamed up with Korean cheerleader Lee Ah-young, a public welfare ambassador, who donned pink cheering attire and led the "Pink Hope Cheering Dance." They hope to encourage women to proactively undergo screening and jointly safeguard family integrity.
Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang, who was originally scheduled to dance with Lee Ah-young, was unable to attend due to a major policy meeting. However, he still expressed his support through a video, mentioning that an elder in his family suffered from breast cancer, and unfortunately, it was discovered too late. This experience gave him a strong sense of mission and motivation for breast cancer prevention, and he hopes that others will not have similar regrets. He urged eligible individuals for public breast cancer screening to undergo regular check-ups.
National Health Administration Director-General Shen Ching-fen said that last year, breast cancer screenings exceeded one million person-times, but the screening rate was only about 40%, and over 30% of women have never undergone breast cancer screening in their lifetime. The public screening target has been expanded to women aged 40 to 74, offering one free mammography every two years. Regular screening effectively reduces the risk of death by 40%. The next goal is to continue encouraging unscreened individuals for early detection and early treatment.
The Republic of China Breast Cancer Patients Association conducted a survey on breast cancer awareness and attitudes among over 2,000 breast cancer patients and general women. The results showed that the four main reasons why general women and cancer patients did not undergo screening before diagnosis were: believing it was unnecessary, not being in a high-risk group, not knowing about screening, and fear of pain during examination. Chairperson Huang Shu-fang said she hopes that academia and industry will invest more in health education and promotion to encourage women to take action for their own health.
Not only do many Taiwanese women still feel shy and fearful about mammography, but even after diagnosis, there are fatal misconceptions such as "surviving 5 years means complete recovery and graduation" or "no lymph node metastasis means absolute safety." Taiwan Breast Cancer Society Chairperson Chen Fang-ming said that for hormone-positive breast cancer, which accounts for nearly 70% of breast cancers in Taiwan, no lymph node metastasis does not equate to no recurrence risk.
Chen Fang-ming stated that clinically, if the tumor is larger than 2 cm, the cell activity Ki-67 cell division index is greater than or equal to 20%, or if the patient is a young patient under 40 years old, as long as any one of these conditions is met, regardless of lymph node metastasis, they belong to the high-recurrence risk group. Although early hormone-positive breast cancer develops relatively mildly, more than half of recurrences occur after 5 years, and the recurrence risk can last up to 20 years.
Chen Fang-ming said that the 5-year survival rate for advanced breast cancer is only 40%, and early diagnosis helps improve the survival rate. He proposed "three good pitches" for preventing breast cancer recurrence: the first is screening every two years; the second is early diagnosis, as medical advancements have led to a 5-year survival rate of over 90% for early breast cancer; and the third is active adjuvant therapy, which can further reduce the recurrence risk by about 30% for high-recurrence risk groups with precise enhanced adjuvant therapy. (Editor: Li Heng-shan) 1150505
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(Central News Agency reporter Chen Chieh-ling, Taipei, 5th) The fatal misconceptions that "no lymph node metastasis means safety" and "surviving breast cancer for 5 years means complete recovery and graduation" are being addressed by doctors. They remind that despite early hormone-positive breast cancer developing relatively mildly, over half of patients may recur after 5 years, and the recurrence risk can last up to 20 years.
Breast cancer has long been the leading cause of cancer incidence among Taiwanese women, with a persistently high mortality threat. The Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) and the Taiwan Breast Cancer Society have teamed up with Korean cheerleader Lee Ah-young, a public welfare ambassador, who donned pink cheering attire and led the "Pink Hope Cheering Dance." They hope to encourage women to proactively undergo screening and jointly safeguard family integrity.
Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang, who was originally scheduled to dance with Lee Ah-young, was unable to attend due to a major policy meeting. However, he still expressed his support through a video, mentioning that an elder in his family suffered from breast cancer, and unfortunately, it was discovered too late. This experience gave him a strong sense of mission and motivation for breast cancer prevention, and he hopes that others will not have similar regrets. He urged eligible individuals for public breast cancer screening to undergo regular check-ups.
National Health Administration Director-General Shen Ching-fen said that last year, breast cancer screenings exceeded one million person-times, but the screening rate was only about 40%, and over 30% of women have never undergone breast cancer screening in their lifetime. The public screening target has been expanded to women aged 40 to 74, offering one free mammography every two years. Regular screening effectively reduces the risk of death by 40%. The next goal is to continue encouraging unscreened individuals for early detection and early treatment.
The Republic of China Breast Cancer Patients Association conducted a survey on breast cancer awareness and attitudes among over 2,000 breast cancer patients and general women. The results showed that the four main reasons why general women and cancer patients did not undergo screening before diagnosis were: believing it was unnecessary, not being in a high-risk group, not knowing about screening, and fear of pain during examination. Chairperson Huang Shu-fang said she hopes that academia and industry will invest more in health education and promotion to encourage women to take action for their own health.
Not only do many Taiwanese women still feel shy and fearful about mammography, but even after diagnosis, there are fatal misconceptions such as "surviving 5 years means complete recovery and graduation" or "no lymph node metastasis means absolute safety." Taiwan Breast Cancer Society Chairperson Chen Fang-ming said that for hormone-positive breast cancer, which accounts for nearly 70% of breast cancers in Taiwan, no lymph node metastasis does not equate to no recurrence risk.
Chen Fang-ming stated that clinically, if the tumor is larger than 2 cm, the cell activity Ki-67 cell division index is greater than or equal to 20%, or if the patient is a young patient under 40 years old, as long as any one of these conditions is met, regardless of lymph node metastasis, they belong to the high-recurrence risk group. Although early hormone-positive breast cancer develops relatively mildly, more than half of recurrences occur after 5 years, and the recurrence risk can last up to 20 years.
Chen Fang-ming said that the 5-year survival rate for advanced breast cancer is only 40%, and early diagnosis helps improve the survival rate. He proposed "three good pitches" for preventing breast cancer recurrence: the first is screening every two years; the second is early diagnosis, as medical advancements have led to a 5-year survival rate of over 90% for early breast cancer; and the third is active adjuvant therapy, which can further reduce the recurrence risk by about 30% for high-recurrence risk groups with precise enhanced adjuvant therapy. (Editor: Li Heng-shan) 1150505
Choose to stand with facts; every sponsorship you provide is a force for protecting press freedom.
Download CNA's "First-hand News" APP to stay updated with the latest news.
The text, images, and videos on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, publicly transmitted, or utilized without authorization.