Ten-year results of breast-conserving surgery and definitive irradiation for intraductal carcinoma (ductal carcinoma in situ) of the breast.

An analysis of 259 women with 261 treated breasts from nine institutions in Europe and the United States was performed to determine the 10-year results of the treatment of intraductal carcinoma of the breast with definitive irradiation. All patients had undergone complete gross excision of the primary intraductal carcinoma, and definitive breast irradiation was delivered in all cases. The median follow-up time was 78 months (range, 11 to 197 months). The 10-year actuarial overall survival rate was 94%, and the 10-year actuarial cause-specific survival rate (including deaths only from carcinoma of the breast) was 97%. The 10-year actuarial rate of freedom from distant metastases was 96%. There were 28 failures in the breast, and the 10-year actuarial rate of local failure was 16%. The pathologic type of local recurrences showed invasive ductal carcinoma in 14 of 28 recurrences (50%) and noninvasive ductal carcinoma in 14 of 28 recurrences (50%). The median time to local failure was 50 months (range, 17 to 129 months). Twenty-four of 28 patients with local failure were salvaged with additional treatment, generally mastectomy, and 4 of 28 patients with local failure subsequently had distant metastases. Median follow-up time after salvage treatment of breast recurrence was 29 months (range, 3 to 90 months). Two patients without local failure subsequently had distant metastases, one of which occurred after a node-positive, contralateral breast carcinoma. These results demonstrate high rates of overall survival, cause-specific survival, and freedom from distant metastases for the treatment of patients with intraductal carcinoma of the breast. The local recurrences within the treated breast were generally salvaged with additional treatment, although with limited follow-up. Because of the long natural history of intraductal carcinoma of the breast, prolonged and careful follow-up of patients after breast-conservation and definitive irradiation is required.