Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 21, 2026
Single-port Non-liposuction Endoscopic Axillary Lymph Node Dissection in Breast Cancer Surgery
Published on: April 3, 2026
Radiotherapy can decrease locoregional recurrence and increase survival in mastectomy patients with T1 to T2 breast
Po Sheng Yang1, Chi Ming Chen, Mei Ching Liu
1Department of Surgery, Sun Yat-Sen Cancer Center, Taipei, Taiwan. psyang@kfsyscc.org
Purpose:
To define a subgroup of patients at high risk of locoregional recurrence (LRR) who might be benefit from postmastectomy radiotherapy in invasive breast cancer and tumor size <5 cm with one to three involved axillary lymph nodes (T1-2 N1).
Methods And Materials:
Between April 1991 and December 2005, 544 patients with T1-2 N1 invasive breast cancer were treated with modified radical mastectomy. Of the 544 patients, 383 patients (70.4%) had no radiotherapy, and 161 patients (29.6%) received radiotherapy. We retrospectively compared these two patient groups.
Results:
With a median follow-up of 40.3 months, LRR occurred in 40 (7.4%) of 544 patients. On univariate analysis, high nuclear grade (p = 0.04), negative estrogen receptor (ER) status (p = 0.001), presence of lymphovascular invasion (LVI) (p = 0.003), and no radiotherapy (p = 0.0015) were associated with a significantly higher rate of LRR. Negative ER status (hazard ratio = 5.1) and presence of LVI (hazard ratio = 2.5) were the risk factors for LRR with statistical significance in the multivariate analysis. Radiotherapy reduced the LRR in patients with the following characteristics: age <40 years, T2 stage, high nuclear grade, negative ER status, and presence of LVI. For 41 patients with negative ER and positive LVI status, radiotherapy can reduce LRR from 10 of 25 (40%) to 2 of 16 (12.5%) and increase the 5-year overall survival from 43.7% to 87.1%.
Conclusion:
Radiotherapy can reduce LRR and increase survival in T1-2 N1 breast cancer patients with negative ER status and presence of LVI.
