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 mammory lymph nodes, i.e. 6000-7000 rads to clinically involved areas and 4500-5000 rads to subclinical disease. Thirty patients have been treated with this program, with followupranging from 1-10 years. Only 1 patient has died from her disease; 1 has had a lot oflocal recurrence readily controlled with mastectomy. Twenty-six patients arealive 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 byclinicians. It deserves evaluation as a treatment option in randomized therapeutic trails.