
advanced cancer of the breast
treated primarily with irradiation
the five-year results in 109 patients
treated primarily with irradiation for
cancer of the breast, mostly in the late
stages, have been analyzed.
in all cases, the initial intent was to
control with x radiation alone the primary
tumor involving the breast and its entire
lymphatic drainage.  irradiation remained
essentially the sole method of treatment in
84 cases.  postirradiation mastectomy was
performed in the 25 other patients, who
initially had been considered inoperable.
the plan of treatment has consisted of a
single continuous course of radiation ther-
apy, protracted over a period of seventy-
five to one hundred days and administered
in 3 closely integrated phases.  tissue
doses, superficial and deep, must be
brought to the highest levels required for
maximum biological effects within the
tolerance of the structures involved.
the immediate effects of irradiation
alone have been remarkable.  the re-
gression of neoplastic manifestations in the
breast and palpable nodes, the degree of
healing of ulcerated carcinoma, and the
incidence of recurrence have been re-
corded and assessed to determine the
efficacy of treatment.
