Patients with metastatic breast cancer are considered as a homogeneous group because of the relative rarity of data relating to specific organ metastases. In this study, the clinical course of metastatic breast cancer was documented for 278 female patients registered from 1978 through 1988 at the Clinic for Radiotherapy of the University of Wurzburg. We analysed these 278 patients with metastatic disease to work out the clinical significance of specific organ metastases (SOM). A comparison of the six most frequent specific organ metastatases (SOM), i.e., bone, lung, CNS, liver, lymph node and skin metastases, is presented. Our findings indicate, that the group of patients with metastatic disease is heterogenous relating to age at time of metastatic disease, to metastatic-free intervall and to the influence of specific organ metastases on survival. The heterogeneity in the group of patients with distant metastatic disease has to be taken in consideration, when the results of chemotherapy are reported.

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