Carcinoma of the breast. Stage II--radiation range. Wedge resection and irradiation. An effective treatment in early breast cancer

Concern for the patients' morale as well as their physical well-being has prompted me to present a preliminary report on our experience in local excision and radiation therapy for early breast cancer at the Ontario Institute, Toronto. Many authors such as Porritt,1Smithers,2Mustakallio,3and de Winter4have emphasized a similar concern, and all have been impressed by the excellent survival rates following wide excision and irradiation for early carcinoma of the breast. Actually, if the five-year survival rate is employed as the parameter, no superior method of treatment has so far been demonstrated in stages I and II breast cancer. This conclusion has been amply supported by the prospective clinical trials comparing methods of treatment which have been reported by Kaae and Johansen5as well as Paterson and Russell.6Also, biometricians such as Park and Lees,7McKinnon,8and Shimkin9have