Survival following mastectomy for stage III breast cancer

Patients with locally advanced breast cancer have been considered unsuitable for curative surgical therapy and are usually approached with other treatment modalities. Review of the results of radical mastectomy in 228 patients with stage III breast cancer demonstrates actuarial survival of 33 per cent at five years and 22 per cent at ten years. Treatment with preoperative or postoperative radiotherapy as employed did not lead to survival superior to that of mastectomy alone. Evidence of local or regional recurrence developed in 27 per cent of patients. In 73 per cent the first recurrence was systemic. This retrospective study suggests that the prognosis for locally advanced breast cancer is not as dismal as has been previously reported. The importance of nodal involvement is again emphasized. A randomized trial of mastectomy with adjuvant chemotherapy for locally advanced breast cancer is warranted. Such a study is in progress at our institution.