Meningeal carcinomatosis underdiagnosis and overestimation: incidence in a large consecutive and unselected population of breast cancer patients

Table 3 Rate of breast cancer related to meningeal carcinomatosis in patients with bone and/or brain metastasis occurrence: 5 years (column A) and 10 years (column B) after surgery

	Column A: 5-year follow up				Column B: 10-year follow up
	MC events	Patients	Person-years	Rate (per 100)	MC events	Patients	Person-years	Rate (per 100)
Occurrence of bone metastasis^a
No	2	1780	5434	0.037 (0.0092–0.147)	3	1898	7770	0.039 (0.012–0.12)
Yes	1	52	84	1.19 (0.168–0.85)	3	87	177	1.69 (0.55–5.25)
				(p < 0.001)				(p < 0.001)
Occurrence of brain metastasis
No	2	1792	5510	0.036 (0.0091–0.15)	3	1912	7929	0.038 (0.012–0.12)
yes	1	9	7	14.36 (2.02–101.93)	3	15	18	16.58 (5.35–51.41)
				(p < 0.001)				(p < 0.001)

^aPatients sum up to more than 1793 (5-year follow-up) or 1915 (10-year follow-up) because bone and brain metastases are time-dependent variables; thus, a single patient who developed metastasis during the follow up contributed to both levels (yes and no) of the variable

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