Purpose: To compare the effects of breast conservative therapy (BCT) with modified radical mastectomy (MRM) in women with early stage breast cancer in the east part of China. We conducted a matched retrospective cohort study using data on patients derived from a prospectively collected breast cancer database.
Methods: We used the database that included patients who received MRM or BCT from 1995 to 2002 in our hospital. The match was conducted according to four variables: age at diagnosis, axillary lymph node status, hormone receptor status, and the dimension of tumor. The match ratio was 1:2. MRM group were patients who received MRM treatment (n=254). BCT group were patients who received BCT treatment (n=127). Median follow-up time for the BCT group and MRM group were 58 and 49 months, respectively. The differences of incidence of loco-regional recurrence, disease free survival, and overall survival at 5 years were compared.
Results: There were no significant differences in incidence of loco-regional recurrence, DFS and OS at 5 years between the two groups of patients. The incidence of loco-regional recurrence was 1.84% in MRM group and 3.39% in BCT group (P=0.55). The DFS in MRM and BCT patients were 91.57 and 86.04% (P=0.37); the OS in MRM and BCT patient were 97.57 and 96.73% (P=0.66).
Conclusions: For appropriate breast cancer patients, classic lumpectomy plus axillary dissection and postoperative radiotherapy lead to excellent local control and good survival rate in our study. The BCT can result in the same effects as MRM in Chinese breast cancer patients with better cosmetic appearances.