title: Time course and prognosis of local recurrence following primary radiation therapy for early breast cancer.
abstract: The frequency, time course, and prognosis of local recurrence following primary radiation therapy in 152 patients with early breast cancer treated before 1967 were examined. Local recurrence occurred at a constant rate over the first 14 years after treatment. The crude 15-year local recurrence rate was 22%. Of the 30 patients who developed an isolated local recurrence and underwent definitive secondary surgery, the 10-year freedom from distant relapse rate was 50%. These results indicate that breast cancer patients treated by primary radiation therapy require long-term follow-up to detect curable local recurrences.
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local