CONSERVATIVE TREATMENT OF EARLY-STAGE BREAST-CANCER IN A MEDICALLY INDIGENT POPULATION

The compliance with a program of breast-conservation treatment for ear ly-stage breast cancer and the results of that treatment among women t reated between January 1983 and January 1992 was investigated in a lar ge inner-city public hospital serving a primarily black population. Me dical records and charts were reviewed for 25 consecutive patients wit h stage I and II breast cancer seen in consultation in the radiation o ncology department. Of those 25 patients, 20 underwent lumpectomy and radiation therapy Survival, disease-free survival, acid local recurren ce-free survival were computed using the Kaplan-Meier method. Complian ce was evaluated based on time to complete the prescribed course of ra diotherapy after a lumpectomy. Five-year local recurrence-free surviva l for stage I and II patients was 95% (confidence interval [CI]: 71% t o 99%). Five-year overall survival for stage Il patients was 71% (CI: 31% to 92%), and disease-free survival was 74% (CI: 36% to 91%). This study demonstrates that a program of breast-conservation treatment for early-stage breast cancer can be implemented with good results, excel lent treatment compliance, and 100% follow-up in a population of medic ally indigent women.