Objective  To analyze the prognostic factors in patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC).

  Methods  A total of 205 patients with pretreated MBC were included in this study. These patients were admitted to the Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute & Hospital and had undergone radical surgery of breast cancer between January 2008 and December 2010. The clinicopathologic information of the patients was collected in this retrospective analysis.

  Results  The median overall survival of the patients was 32 months (1 month to 132 months). Luminal A, Luminal B, HER-2 overexpression, and triple-negative patients had a median overall survival of 36 months (4 months to 132 months), 32 months (7 months to 122 months), 29 months (1 month to 85 months), and 24 months (1 month to 98 months), respectively. Univariate analysis showed that lymph node metastases, clinical stage, molecular type, visceral disease, first multiple metastatic sites, and shorter metastasis-free interval were significantly associated with poor outcomes. In multivariate analysis, lymph node metastases, clinical stage, molecular type, visceral metastasis, and the number of first metastatic sites were significant predictors of patient survival.

  Conclusion  Lymph node metastasis, clinical stage, triple-negative breast cancer, and visceral metastasis were used as independent poor prognostic indicators for survival in patients. Results of this study may assist physicians in evaluating the survival potential and determining the appropriate therapeutic strategy for MBC patients.