True local recurrences or new primary tumors after breast-conserving surgery and radiation therapy

True local recurrences (TR) and new primary tumors (NP) in the conserved breast after breast-conserving surgery with radiation therapy are determined by the initial surgical margin, the location of recurrent tumors and the histological consistency between initial tumors and recurrent tumors. A total of 15 patients with breast recurrence out of a group of 389 women with breast cancer who underwent breast-conserving therapy between 1991 and 2003 were included in this study. The biological differences between TR and NP were examined. Eight patients had TR, and seven had NP. The disease-free interval was 34.6 months in the TR group and 94.1 in the NP group. Breast-free survival was significantly better in the NP group than the TR group. The accumulated 10-year overall survival after salvage surgery in patients with TR or NP tumors was 85.1%. The accumulated overall survival after salvage surgery was better in the NP group than the TR group. Patients with NP tumors have a favorable prognosis compared to those with TR tumors. It is important to determine the type of breast recurrence in order to accurately predict the prognosis of patients with breast recurrence. (author)