title: Multimodal approach in the therapy of stage III female breast cancers.
abstract: One thousand thirty-seven female breast cancers were treated at the Cancer Institute (WIA), Madras, between 1965 and 1978. Five hundred twenty-one of them (ie, just over 50%) were in stage III, with extensive local disease, unsuitable for surgery ab initio. Four hundred twelve of them (group A) received radiation therapy (RT) initially and 109 (group B) a combination of radiation and chemotherapy (CT). In 68% of the former and 77% of the latter the tumours became resectable after this preliminary treatment. Radical mastectomy in group A and Patey's mastectomy in group B were performed. The material in these two groups was similar. The five-year survival NED in group A was 45%, and in group B 64.61%. Adequate surgery following RT and CT seemed essential to improve survival. The impact of added chemotherapy (CT) was mainly felt in the node-positive cases.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D002369:Castration; D003037:Cobalt Radioisotopes / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008408:Mastectomy; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis
chemical_list: D003037:Cobalt Radioisotopes