I have been diagnosed with triple negative apocrine breast cancer. This has spread to one lymph node. I had surgery a few weeks to remove it and an auxiliary clearance. My oncologist used the Predict tool to demonstrate survival rates for my type of cancer with and without chemotherapy. However there is a later version from March 2024 that although it has apparently been validated by several NHS trusts, is not yet being used by the NHS. When I put my cancer details into this version it gives very different results with far more women surviving with surgery alone, and far fewer benefiting from chemotherapy. The old version has 45 women surviving in ten years with surgery alone, 11 more with chemotherapy, with 18 deaths from other causes and 26 deaths from breast cancer. The new 2024 version using the same details has 72 women surviving with just surgery alone, and only 4 benefiting from chemo, with 11 deaths from other causes and 13 deaths from breast cancer. There is an enormous difference between 45 women surviving with just surgery and 72. I know the 2024 version might not have been validated yet, but I don't feel I can ignore it in my decision making regarding whether or not to have chemotherapy. Obviously I don't want to have chemotherapy unnecessarily. I am also aware that there is some evidence that chemotherapy doesn't work for apocrine cancers, but that they are so rare there is very little evidence. Do you know how robust the 2024 version is and is it safely something I can base my decision making on?
