137 LOCAL RECURRENCES SUBSEQUENT TO CARCI NOMA OF THE BREAST - A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY

A retrospective study was performed to follow up the course of the dis ease in 137 female premenopausal and postmenopausal patients in whom l ocal recurrence of carcinoma of the breast had occurred. Particular at tention was given to the dependence of the recurrence-free interval on the tumorobiological parameters of the primary tumour. In 23% of the cases the local recurrence was an expression of generalisation of the tumour with simultaneous occurrence of distant metastases. The average recurrence-free interval was four years, but more than half of the re currences were seen during the first two postoperative years. For the following parameters we found a statistically significant correlation with the recurrence-free interval: size of the primary tumour (p=0.000 3), the nodal status (p=0.0006) and in this connection also the number of the metastatically involved lymphatic nodes (p=0.0002) and the mag nitude of the involved lymphatic node level (p=0.00001). There was als o a significant correlation between the duration of the recurrence-fre e interval and the immunohistochemical oestrogen and progesterone rece ptor status (p=0.0005) and the growth fraction (p=0.0106) determined w ith the monoclonal antibody Ki67. However, although there was no corre lation between recurrence-free survival and the kind of surgical prima ry therapy that had been employed, adjuvant therapy did exercise a dec isive influence: there was significant later incidence of local recurr ences (p=0.00001) subsequent to adjuvant radiotherapy.