Fig. 1

Kaplan-Meier curves estimate overall survival in: a. de novo stage IV breast cancer (Median survival was 78 months in the surgery group vs. 37 months in the no surgery group; log-rank test: p = 0.002); b. bone metastasis only (Median survival was 106 months in the surgery group vs. 80 months in the no surgery group; log-rank test: p = 0.172); c. viscera metastasis only (Median survival was 60 months in the surgery group vs. 26 months in the no surgery group; log-rank test: p = 0.249); d. soft tissue metastasis only (Median survival was 136 months in the surgery group vs. 21 months in the no surgery group; log-rank test: p = 0.006)