Definitive irradiation for localized non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of breast

A diagnosis of primary non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) confined to the breast or breast and ipsilateral lymph nodes was biopsy proven in 19 patients who presented to our institution between 1970 and 1984. Four patients were treated with a modified radical mastectomy, and one with chemotherapy only. The remaining 14 patients comprise the basis of this study. All patients were clinically staged. There were 12 patients with 1A-E disease and two with IIA-E disease. All patients were treated with breast radiation. The axillary nodes were included in seven of the patients and two, in addition, received "mantle" irradiation. The majority of the patients received between 3500-4400 cGy, but four received lower doses. One patient, with Stage IIA-E disease, received 6 months of systemic chemotherapy, followed by 3500 cGy to the breast and axilla. Three of the 14 patients relapsed within the treated area, with a local control rate of 78%. One was salvaged with a mastectomy and remains alive and well 15 years after diagnosis. Seven of the 14 patients relapsed distantly, including two with local failures, but only three have died of disease. An additional two patients have died of other causes without evidence of disease, for a survival of 66% at 48 months (Kaplan-Meier Calculations).