Survival is improving in patients with metastatic breast cancer, especially in those patients whose tumors are described as being HER2 positive, according to new research. Median survival times for five-year intervals of 557 metastatic breast cancer patients increased steadily, from 10 months for the 1985 to 1990 period, to 22 months for the 2000 to 2004 period. The researchers attribute this to the advent of targeted treatment.