Follow-up may not be beneficial after treatment of grade 1 breast cancer.
BACKGROUND
Identification of women treated for breast cancer who have a low risk of locoregional recurrence or contralateral breast cancer, and who can be discharged safely from follow-up, would lower costs without compromising prognosis. This study investigated the risk of locoregional recurrence and contralateral breast cancer in women treated for grade 1 breast cancer.


METHODS
Some 1143 women who had surgery for breast cancer were followed, and the rate of locoregional recurrence or contralateral breast cancer was determined. The risk was compared to the tumour grade.


RESULTS
At a mean follow-up of 9.1 years, 10-year estimates of the cumulative risk of locoregional recurrence or contralateral breast cancer for grade 1, 2 and 3 breast cancer were 0.03 (95 per cent confidence interval (c.i.) 0.01 to 0.08), 0.12 (0.09 to 0.15) and 0.16 (0.13 to 0.20) respectively. Grade 1 tumours had a risk of locoregional recurrence or contralateral breast cancer of 285 (95 per cent c.i. 93 to 670) per 100,000 person-years.


CONCLUSIONS
Women treated for grade 1 breast cancer could be discharged from follow-up after completion of the primary treatment, without compromising their quality of care.
Kontos
M
M
Breast Unit, Guy's Hospital, London, UK. Michalis_Kontos@yahoo.com
Allen
D
D
Trafalis
D T
DT
Jones
G
G
Garmo
H
H
Holmberg
L
L
Hamed
H
H
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015411:Mastectomy, Modified Radical; D015412:Mastectomy, Segmental; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D016609:Neoplasms, Second Primary; D016896:Treatment Outcome