Survival following breast-conserving surgery and irradiation or modified radical mastectomy in patients with invasive breast cancers with a maximum diameter of 1 cm.

The reported relapse-free survival for women with invasive breast cancers measuring no more than 10 mm in dimension ranges from 75% to 95%, with axillary status an important prognostic factor in most series. Further study of prognostic variables in this most favorable subset is notably limited. We retrospectively reviewed the records of 168 women with invasive breast cancers < or = 10 mm treated with either breast conserving surgery+axillary dissection (AXD) and radiation therapy, or mastectomy+AXD. The actuarial survival and survival free of distant metastases (DMFS) at 7 years was 95% and 97%, respectively. Location and size of the primary tumor were most important in predicting outcome, although statistical significance was not achieved. The 5-year distant metastases-free survival (DMFS) was 100% for central and inner quadrant tumors, compared to 97% in those with outer quadrant tumors, p = 0.18. The 5-year DMFS was 100%, 95%, and 98% for patients with cancers 2-5 mm, 6-9 mm, and 10 mm, respectively, p = 0.15. Status of the axillary lymph nodes, type of breast surgery, clinical tumor status (palpable vs. nonpalpable), age, menopausal status, histologic grade, systemic therapy, or histologic type were not found to have a significant impact on prognosis.