COMPARISON OF BREAST-CONSERVING THERAPY WITH MASTECTOMY FOR TREATMENTOF EARLY BREAST-CANCER IN COMMUNITY HOSPITALS

Although the results of clinical trials support breast-conserving ther apy as a replacement for mastectomy in early breast cancer, the questi on remains whether these results apply in routine clinical practice. I n the present analysis the breast cancer-specific survival and recurre nce-free survival of 464 consecutive patients with breast tumours less than or equal to 3 cm across undergoing breast-conserving therapy wer e compared with a group of 459 patients with similar extent of disease and period of diagnosis undergoing mastectomy. All patients were trea ted in community hospitals in the south-eastern Netherlands. Median fo llow-up of both treatment groups was 6.2 years, After adjustment for t he prognostic effects of age, tumour size, axillary nodal status and a djuvant systemic therapy, neither breast cancer-specific survival nor recurrence-free survival differed significantly between the breast-con serving therapy group and the mastectomy group, This finding indicates that in routine clinical practice breast-conserving therapy may be as effective as mastectomy.