Wide excision of the tumor, axillary dissection, and postoperative radiotherapy as treatment of small breast cancers.

A retrospective study was carried out on 265 patients with small cancers of the breast who were subjected to wide excision of the tumor, axillary dissection, and postoperative radiotherapy. In the group of patients with T1, T2 less than 3 cm, N0, N1a (which represents 90% of all patients in the study), axillary lymph node involvement was found in 27% of cases, and in 11% three nodes or more were affected. Only five cases of recurrences occurred during the follow-up, and 19 patients presented distant metastases. The survival for all patients T1, T2 less than 3 cm, N0, N1a in the study was of 93% at 3 years and 93% at 5 years. Morbidity was minimal and the cosmetic results were generally good.