The treatment outcome of patients undergoing breast-conserving therapy: the clinical role of postoperative radiotherapy

Background Treatment outcome was evaluated in patients who underwent breast-conserving therapy and tangential irradiation. After verifying background factors including systemic therapy, the clinical efficacy of postoperative irradiation was investigated. Method There were 708 study subjects, all of whom had early breast cancer treated between 1992 and 2002. The median follow-up period was 83 months. After breast-conserving surgery, in patients with negative surgical margins, only tangential irradiation at 48 Gy/24 fr was performed. In contrast, in those with positive surgical margins, 10 Gy of radiation boost to the tumor bed with electrons was administered after tangential irradiation with 50 Gy/25 fr. Treatment outcome was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox's proportional hazards regression model. Results The disease-free survival and no-recurrence rates within the ipsilateral breast after 5 years were 93.4 and 97.2%, respectively. Risk factors for recurrence within the ipsilateral breast included younger age of patient, the number of positive lymph nodes, and no endocrine therapy. However, the surgical margin was not a risk factor. Risk factors for relapse outwith the ipsilateral breast included younger age, the number of positive lymph nodes, and recurrence within the ipsilateral breast. Conclusions From our analysis of 708 Japanese women who received breast-conserving therapy, which can be regarded as a standard method in Japan, the treatment outcome was compatible with previous reports from other countries.