A long-term follow-up study of survival in stage I (T1N0M0) and stage II (T1N1M0) breast carcinoma.

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Abstract
This study was undertaken to investigate the long-term survival and the probability of "cure" in a group of 644 patients treated by mastectomy for T1 breast carcinoma. After a median follow-up of 18.2 years, 23% were dead of recurrent breast carcinoma, 3% were alive with recurrent disease, and 74% had not experienced a recurrence. The probability of recurrence was directly related to the initial extent of the disease. Overall, 16% of recurrences and 25% of deaths due to disease occurred in the second decade of follow-up. The proportion of recurrences detected in the second decade was inversely related to the stage of the primary tumor at diagnosis. When stratified by tumor size, T1N0M0 patients with tumors 1.0 cm or less in diameter had a significantly better 20-year recurrence-free survival (86%) than did T1N0M0 patients with tumors 1.1 to 2.0 cm (69%). When observed and expected survival curves were compared by the method of Brinkley and Haybittle, it appeared that 80% of T1N0M0 patients with tumors 1 c...