[Adjuvant therapy for breast cancer patient with 10 or more involved nodes]

The aim of a retrospective study was to evaluate efficacy of three modalities of adjuvant therapy for patients who had breast cancer with more than ten positive axillary nodes. One hundred eighteen patients underwent extended radical mastectomy and 48 patients underwent radical mastectomy. Eight six patients received chemotherapy which included CAF or other, 18 patients underwent surgical endocrine therapy, 37 patients had irradiation using 60 cobalt or LINAC, 18 patients had surgery alone or insufficient dose of chemotherapy, Five year survival and 10 years survival for each modalities of adjuvant therapy were as follows: 48% 18% for chemotherapy, 45%, 18% for surgical endocrine therapy, 28%, 12% for irradiation, however a statistical difference was not yet confirmed between chemotherapy and irradiation (chi 2 = 3.00). Four patients were healthy and another four patients were alive with recurrent disease at time of postoperative 10 year. Currently, intensive chemotherapy with ABMT or PBSCT is adopted for those who had a high number of involved axillary nodes. The exact comparison between conventional adjuvant therapy and a new modality will be required.