Primary breast cancer: the effect of primary ovarian irradiation.

Between November 1957 and December 1963, 169 premenopausal and 177 postmenopausal patients were included in a randomized clinical trial. In the experimental group ovarian irradiation was given shortly after mastectomy. In the control group ovarian irradiation was planned for the time of first recurrence. The last published follow-up in 1974 [1] revealed a significant effect on disease-free survival both in premenopausal and postmenopausal patients. The latest results from a follow-up conducted in 1989 demonstrate a significant effect also on crude survival in both age groups. As expected, long-term effects are observed exclusively in the premenopausal cohort.