Radiation therapy as primary treatment for early stage carcinoma of the breast

A treatment program for early stage breast cancer consisting of biopsy only and primary radiation therapy is described. The treatment plan is radical with tumoricidal doses or radiation delivered to the breast and axillary, supraclavicular, and internal mammary lymph nodes, i.e., 6000 to 7000 rads to clinically involved areas and 4500 to 5000 rads to subclinical disease. Thirty patients have been treated with this program, with followup ranging from 1 to 10 years. Only 1 patient has died from her disease; 1 has had a local recurrence readily controlled with mastectomy. Twenty-six patients are alive and well; there have been 3 deaths from intercurrent illness. No significant radiation complications have occurred. Radiation therapy as the sole treatment for breast cancer has been described in the literature for at least 20 years but generally ignored by clinicians. It deserves evaluation as a treatment option in randomized therapeutic trails. (U.S.)