Survival after local treatment for early breast cancer

A 10-year survival rate of 82% was found in 517 women with early localized breast cancer (pathological stage T1-2N0M0) who had been treated with local therapy alone (total mastectomy and axillary clearance). Factors influencing survival were tumour size (T1 versus T2) and age; patients older than 50 years fared better than younger patients at 5 years but this advantage had disappeared at 10 years. Receptor status influenced disease-free survival, but not survival. Recurrence developed in 93 patients--systemic in 46 and local in 47. Support for the contention that all breast cancer is systemic was thus not found at 10 years, and the value of local therapy alone in node-negative women was endorsed.