Wide local excision as the sole primary treatment in elderly patients with carcinoma of the breast.

Clinically localized carcinoma of the breast in 96 women was treated by wide local excision alone. The locoregional recurrence rate was 35 per cent at a mean follow-up of 47 months. There was no significant effect of recurrence on survival because of the relatively high mortality rate from unrelated conditions in these mainly elderly patients. Recurrence was successfully managed with tamoxifen in the majority of cases, with few patients requiring radiotherapy or further surgery. Recurrence in the breast was associated with significantly less systemic disease and mortality than recurrence in the axilla.