Clinico-pathologic analysis of 221 cases of breast carcinoma.

The clinical and pathologic data of the 221 patients with breast carcinoma primarily treated in the Servico de Cirurgia 3 of Hospital S. Joäo from 1960 to 1979 were reviewed. The 5, 10 and 15-year survival rates of the 215 patients with follow-up information were 63.4%, 48.2% and 20.2%, respectively. Patho logic staging of the axilla was found to be the most important prognostic factor. Tumor size, histologic classification and histologic grading also provided valuable prognostic information and in women without lymph node metastases contributed to define a high-risk subpopulation. Postmenopausal women and women less than 35-year-old had in general a more advanced neoplastic disease and a worse outcome than the other women. The survival of patients undergoing modified radical mastectomy was similar to that of patients submitted to Halsted radical mastectomy thus reinforcing the assumption that modified radical mastectomy is a satisfactory alternative to the standard radical procedure.