Journal of Clinical Oncology, Vol 1, 184-189, Copyright © 1983 by American Society of Clinical Oncology
Clinical-pathologic study of early breast cancer treated by primary radiation therapy
JR Harris, JL Connolly, SJ Schnitt, RB Cohen and S Hellman
We performed a clinical-pathologic review of 231 patients with early breast
cancer treated by primary radiation therapy. There were 27 patients with
infiltrating ductal carcinoma treated with excisional biopsy whose tumors
showed a constellation of histologic features: moderate or marked
intraductal carcinoma in the tumor, intraductal carcinoma in the adjacent
tissue, and high nuclear grade. These patients had a 5-yr local tumor
control rate of 61% compared to 96% for similar patients whose tumors did
not show all three features. Radiation dose to the primary tumor area
influenced the likelihood of local recurrence in these 27 patients: 15 of
these patients received 6000 rads or more to the primary tumor area and had
a 5-yr local tumor control rate of 84%, compared to 48% for the 12 patients
who received less than 6000 rads. These results indicate that a subgroup of
breast cancer patients can be identified that has a high risk of local
recurrence when an insufficient radiation dose (i.e., less than 6000 rads)
is delivered to the primary tumor area.
