Simple and Radical Mastectomy for Breast Cancer: A Re-Analysis of Smith and Meyer's Report From Rockford, Illinois

Abstract

Analysis of 448 women treated surgically for cancer of the breast in Rockford, Illinois, between 1929 and 1954 indicated that the 5- and 10-year survival rates are the same whether radical or simple mastectomy was performed. There are detectable differences in the selection of patients for different operations, however, so that as in other retrospective analyses, exact comparability between the groups cannot be demonstrated. A rigidly controlled clinical trial, with patients entering various surgical procedures to be compared by randomization, is needed and urged.