Breast Conserving Operation and Radiation Therapy in Early Breast Cancer: Interim Analysis

Kim, Jin Hee; Kim, Ok Bae; Kim, You Sah

Abstract

PURPOSE: To evaluate interim results in terms of failure, cosmetic results and survival after breast conserving operation and radiation therapy in early breast cancer.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
From January 1992 through December 1997, seventy two patients with early stage 0, I and II breast cancer were treated with conservative surgery plus radiotherapy at Keimyung University Dongsan Medical Center. Age distribution was 25 to 77 years old with median age of 43. According to TNM stage, five patients had stage 0, thirty three were stage I, twenty five were IIa, and nine were IIb. Most patients underwent excision of all gross tumor and ipsilateral axillary dissection. Breast was irradiated through medial and lateral tangential fields of 6 MV photons to 50.4 Gy in 28 fractions over 5.5 weeks. We delivered a boost irradiation dose of 10 to 16 Gy in 1 to 2 weeks to excision site. Adjuvant chemotherapy was administered in forty one patients with CMF (cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, 5-fluorouracil) regimens of 6 cycles concurrently or before radiation. Cosmetic results were assessed by questionnaire to patients grading of excellent, good, fair, poor. Follow-up periods were 22 to 91 months with median 40 months.
RESULTS
Five year disease free survival rate (5YDFS) was 95.8%. According to stage, 5YDFS was 100%, 96.9%, 96% and 88.9% in stage 0, I, IIa and IIb, respectively. Two patients had distant metastasis and one had local and distant failure. One patient with distant failure had bone and liver metastasis at 14 months after treatment and the other had lung and both supraclavicular metastasis at 21 months after treatment. Patient with local and distant failure had local recurrence on other quadrant in same breast and then salvaged with total mastectomy and chemotherapy but she died due to brain metastasis at 55 months. Complications were radiation pneumonitis in five patients (four patients of asymptomatic, one patients of symptomatic) and hand or arm edema(4 patients). Fifty nine patients answered our cosmetic result questionnaire and cosmetic results were good to excellent in fifty one patients (86%).
CONCLUSION
We considered that conservative surgery and radiation for the treatment of early stage invasive breast cancer was safe and had excellent survival and cosmetic results. We need to assess about prognostic factors with longer follow up and with large number of patients.