The principal author of the study is Dr. Mark Kanemori, a radiation oncologist at Kuakini Medical Center, where the patients were treated with lumpectomy and radiation therapy. He said the six-year rate of relapse was less than 1 percent, while other studies have shown a relapse rate that ranges from 2 percent to 16 percent.

Kanemori said 74 percent of the patients treated in this study were of Japanese ethnicity. He hopes the results will spark more studies into ethnicity and cancer.

"It really deserves further research," Kanemori said, which he hopes can be done in Hawai'i. "For studying effects of ethnicity on cancer, there's no better place in the world."

One of those who was treated for breast cancer at Kuakini during the study without relapse is Sandra Kiyuna.

The 78-year-old Honolulu resident got her diagnosis in 1998 and reached her five-year milestone without a recurrence last August. She was happy to hear about the promising news in the cancer study and believes early detection through regular tests contributed to it.

She watches her diet, reads up on the disease and continues to meet monthly with her support group.

Last fall, she joined others in the Susan B. Komen Race for the Cure, which raises breast cancer awareness and celebrates survivors. She walked in the 5K event and said although it made her shins hurt, it was worth it.

"I ached for two days," Kiyuna said. "But it made me feel good."

"It's not a unique finding," Goodman said. "I would suspect that some of the other hospitals have similar experiences."

He said other studies have indicated that both Japanese and Caucasian women do better than other ethnic groups and that Caucasian women here do better than white women on the Mainland, suggesting that some of the factors may have to do with Hawai'i's environment.

Goodman said researchers caution against putting too much value on any study based on only a single hospital's data. Sometimes community hospitals come up with more impressive statistics than specialty hospitals that may attract the most difficult cases.

He said the center is working to further probe the effects of diet and would also look at education and other socio-economic factors.

Kanemori's co-author is Maria Prygrocki (pronounced pre-grocky), who manages the cancer registry at Kuakini and is a breast cancer patient, whose results are included in the study data as well.

Prygrocki, 54, was diagnosed in 1999 after she found a lump a little bigger than a pea high on her chest. She said the cancer didn't turn up in her mammogram so she recommends both the regular mammogram and exam as well as monthly breast self-examination. "Doing one is never enough," she said.

This year, she had a recurrence of the cancer and is now undergoing hormone therapy to try to stop the spread of the disease. Despite the medical setback, Prygrocki remains positive about treatment, reads constantly about the latest in treatment and stays active in a support group.

She urges women to seek treatment as soon as they suspect a problem. "So many women are more afraid of the treatment than of the cancer."

Dr. Stephen Jiang, director of health initiatives of the American Cancer Society, said the study shows impressive survival rates for women who have breast cancer removed through less radical surgery, which he believes sends a message of hope to women diagnosed with the disease.

Jiang said advances in treatment are improving the cancer survivors' overall quality of life. Compare that to the 1970s when "they were removing women's chests entirely for a small lump."

He said further research needs to delve more deeply into the survivors' lives and habits. "What generation of Japanese women are these?" he asked. Do they eat a traditional lower-fat Japanese diet? "Are they a second- or third-generation woman with a more sedentary lifestyle and more access to fast food?"