Background: One thousand seventy patients treated conservatively for Stages I and II breast cancer between the years 1982 and 1994 were reviewed. The median follow-up was 40 months with a maximum follow-up of 152 months.
Methods: All patients had a wide local excision and lower lymph axillary node dissection followed by radiation therapy. The entire breast received an external beam dose of 4500 cGy at 180 cGy/5 days/week. An additional boost dose of 2000 cGy to the tumor bed was given at the time of lumpectomy (perioperative) with an Ir-192 implant or with electron beam therapy after the external beam therapy.
Results: The 5- and 10-year disease specific survival results were 97 and 90%, respectively for Stage I and 87 and 69% for patients with Stage II disease. The 5- and 10-year local control rates were 93 and 85% for Stage I and 92 and 87% for Stage II, respectively. The risk factors for local failure were premenopausal status and estrogen receptor-negative status at the univariate level but at the multivariate level the premenopausal and margins status were significant.
Conclusion: These 10-year results were at least equivalent to reported series of similarly staged patients treated by mastectomy. This should encourage more surgeons to offer conservative treatment as an alternative to mastectomy to patients with Stage I and II breast cancer.