Analysis of local recurrence in breast cancer

Objective To study the main determinants of local rercurrence in breast cancer. Methods Analyzed 435 patients with primary breast cancer who underwent breast-conserving treatment or mastectomy and axillary lymph node dissection from 1997 to 2001. Results The total rate of recurrence was 7.0% (29 cases). Age, pathologic type, the status of estrogen recepter, tumor size, axillary nodal involvement, breast-conserving treatment and without postoperational radiation were the main risk factors of local recurrence, while sex, family history were not significantly related to local recurrence. Conclusion Early diagnosis and therapy will sufficiently decrease the rate of local recurrence in breast cancer. Meanwhile, it is our duty to strictly select pa-dents underdo breast-conserving treatment, improve operational technique and adjuvant therapeutic methods.