Results of Salvage Mastectomy for Local Recurrence After Breast-conserving Surgery Without Radiation Therapy

Background: Between 1975 and 1987, 128 patients with infiltrating breast cancer, categorized as clinical Stage I and II disease, were treated by breast conservation surgery without radiation therapy.

Materials: After a median disease-free interval of 20 months (range, 8-64 months), 25 of 128 patients had local recurrence, for which salvage mastectomy was performed. The results of modified radial mastectomy as a salvage procedure were analyzed in these 25 patients.

Results: After a median disease-free interval of 52 months (range, 8-75 years) after the salvage procedure, 12 patients had chest wall and distant recurrences, whereas 13 patients remained free of disease. The 5-year actuarial disease-free and overall survival rates after the salvage mastectomy were 51% and 65%, respectively.

Conclusions: Univariate analyses of factors affecting disease-free survival and overall survival showed that the size of the local recurrence (< or = 2 cm) (P = 0.009) and the number of pathologically positive axillary nodes at the time of the salvage procedure (fewer than four nodes) (P = 0.002) were associated with a better prognosis.