Treatment of stage I and II adenocarcinoma of the breast by tumor excision and irradiation

In recent years there has been an increse in the number of women with breast cancer seeking an alternative to mastectomy. When seeing these patients in consultation, radiation oncologists should make an effort to enter them into one of the two current United States clinical trials involving breast-conserving surgery and irradiation. If a patient cannot or will not be entered into one of these trials, then her management should be based on careful consideration of the various factors involved in the selection of patients for breast-conserving surgery and irradiation, particularly tumor size, breast size and patient attitude. In addition to a discussion of these selection factors, this communication includes a description of the different types of breast-conserving surgery and the technical details involved in irradiating the intact breast