Treatment of small breast cancer: General use of breast-saving treatment in Germany - The results of 8-years experience

In the prospective nonrandomized observation study "Therapy of Small Breast Cancer", which was the first multicenter trial on breast cancer ever conducted in Germany, mastectomy (303 cases) was compared with breast-preservation therapy (733 cases) in patients with stage pT1NOMO breast cancer. After a median follow-up of 8 years, there is no difference between the treatment modalities with regard to disease-free and overall survival which compares well with the results Of international randomized studies. There is no difference in treatment outcome between centers specialized in the therapy of breast diseases in comparison to less experienced institutions as long as a high standard of treatment performance is guaranteed by reference centers.