TY - JOUR
T1 - Preoperative chemotherapy alone and combined with preoperative radiotherapy in small-size breast cancer
AU - Rilke, Franco
AU - Veronesi, Umberto
AU - Luini, Alberto
AU - Brambilla, Cristina
AU - Galimberti, Viviana
AU - Zurrida, Stefano
AU - Pilotti, Silvana
AU - Palma, Silvana Di
AU - Zucali, Roberto
AU - Lozza, Laura
PY - 1996
Y1 - 1996
N2 - Breast conservation surgery is an effective and safe treatment for many breast carcinomas. It may be possible to further limit the extent of resection (or expand the indication for breast conservation) by the application of preoperative chemotherapy and radiotherapy. We explored the feasibility of this in a pilot study. Seventy-three patients (mean age 48, 63% premenopausal) with confirmed breast cancer, less than 2.5 cm, received chemotherapy (Group A) or chemotherapy plus radiotherapy (Group B) prior to limited resection (tumorectomy). Axillary dissection was always performed. Results: In 6/31 (19%) Group A and 17/42 (40%) Group B patients the tumor was not palpable after preoperative treatment, with complete pathological remission in 1 and 3 cases respectively. Histologic grading, mitosis, cellular alteration, and cellularity evaluations indicated a consistently greater therapeutic effect with chemoradiotherapy than with chemotherapy alone. In conclusion, radiotherapy appears useful in the preoperative treatment of breast cancer and its use in association with various drug combinations should be further explored.
AB - Breast conservation surgery is an effective and safe treatment for many breast carcinomas. It may be possible to further limit the extent of resection (or expand the indication for breast conservation) by the application of preoperative chemotherapy and radiotherapy. We explored the feasibility of this in a pilot study. Seventy-three patients (mean age 48, 63% premenopausal) with confirmed breast cancer, less than 2.5 cm, received chemotherapy (Group A) or chemotherapy plus radiotherapy (Group B) prior to limited resection (tumorectomy). Axillary dissection was always performed. Results: In 6/31 (19%) Group A and 17/42 (40%) Group B patients the tumor was not palpable after preoperative treatment, with complete pathological remission in 1 and 3 cases respectively. Histologic grading, mitosis, cellular alteration, and cellularity evaluations indicated a consistently greater therapeutic effect with chemoradiotherapy than with chemotherapy alone. In conclusion, radiotherapy appears useful in the preoperative treatment of breast cancer and its use in association with various drug combinations should be further explored.
KW - Adjuvant chemotherapy
KW - Adjuvant radiotherapy
KW - Breast cancer
KW - Conservative surgery
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M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0000710769
VL - 2
SP - 176
EP - 180
JO - Breast Journal
JF - Breast Journal
SN - 1075-122X
IS - 3
ER -