The Place of Extensive Surgery in Locoregional Recurrence and Limited Metastatic Disease of Breast Cancer: Preliminary Results

The aims of this study were first to clearly define two different entities: locoregional recurrences and limited metastatic disease and secondly to evaluate the place of extensive surgery in these two types of recurrence. Material and Methods. Twenty-four patients were followed from June 2004 until May 2014. All patients underwent surgery but for 1 patient this surgery was stopped because the tumour was unresectable. Results. The median interval between surgery for the primary tumour and the locoregional recurrence or metastatic evolution was 129 months. Eight patients had pure nodal recurrences, 4 had nodal and muscular recurrences, 5 had muscular + skin recurrences, and 8 had metastatic evolution. Currently, all patients are still alive but 2 have liver metastases. Disease free survival was measured at 2 years and extrapolated at 5 years and was 92% at these two time points. No difference was observed for young or older women; limited metastatic evolution and locoregional recurrence exhibited the same disease free survival. Conclusion. Extensive surgery has a place in locoregional and limited metastatic breast cancer recurrences but this option must absolutely be integrated in the multidisciplinary strategy of therapeutic options and needs to be planned with a curative intent.