3-Dimensional Conformal Radiation Therapy In Treating Women With Stage I or Stage II Breast Cancer Previously Treated With Lumpectomy and Axillary Node Dissection

You may be eligible if

• DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:
• Histologically confirmed invasive breast cancer
• * Stage I or II (T1, N0; T1, N1; T2, N0; or T2, N1)
• * Unifocal disease (single focus that can be encompassed by one lumpectomy)
• * The following histologies are eligible:
• * Invasive ductal
• * Medullary
• * Papillary
• * Colloid (mucinous)
• * Tubular
• No invasive or extensive in situ lobular carcinoma or pure ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS)
• No nonepithelial breast malignancies such as sarcoma or lymphoma
• Previously treated with lumpectomy of a lesion no greater than 3 cm and axillary dissection of at least 6 lymph nodes or a sentinel node biopsy
• * Six surgical clips in place delineating the margins of the tylectomy cavity
• * Negative, inked histologic margins of lumpectomy (greater than 2 mm) OR re-excision specimen available for confirmation
• * Negative mammography post-lumpectomy or post-excision if malignancy-associated microcalcifications were initially present
• * No prior lumpectomy so extensive that the cosmetic result is low or poor prior to radiotherapy
• No more than 3 positive axillary nodes
• No proven multicentric carcinoma (tumors in different quadrants of the breast or tumor separated by at least 4 cm) with other clinically or radiographically suspicious areas in the ipsilateral breast unless negative by biopsy
• No palpable or radiographically suspicious contralateral axillary, supraclavicular, infraclavicular, or internal mammary nodes unless nodes are histologically negative
• No extensive intraductal carcinoma, indicated by one of the following according to the Harvard definition:
• * More than 25 % of invasive tumor is DCIS and DCIS is in adjacent breast tissue
• * Intraductal carcinoma with microinvasion
• No previously treated contralateral breast cancer or synchronous ipsilateral breast cancer
• No evidence of suspicious microcalcifications
• No Paget's disease of the nipple
• No skin involvement by disease, regardless of tumor size
• No distant metastases
• Hormone receptor status:
• * Not specified
• PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:
• Age
• 18 and over
• Sex
• Female
• Menopausal status
• Not specified
• Performance status
• Not specified
• Life expectancy
• At least 2 years
• Hematopoietic
• Not specified
• Hepatic
• Not specified
• Renal
• Not specified
• Other
• Not pregnant or nursing
• Negative pregnancy test
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception
• Technically suitable for breast radiotherapy
• No collagenous diseases (e.g., systemic lupus erythematosus, scleroderma, or dermatomyositis)
• No other medical condition that would limit life expectancy
• No psychiatric or addictive disorders that would preclude giving informed consent
• No other malignancy within the past 5 years except nonmelanoma skin cancer
• PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:
• Biologic therapy
• Not specified
• Chemotherapy
• At least 2 weeks since prior chemotherapy
• No concurrent chemotherapy during and for at least 2 weeks after completion of study therapy
• Endocrine therapy
• Concurrent anastrozole or tamoxifen allowed
• Radiotherapy
• No prior radiotherapy for the current malignancy
• Surgery
• See Disease Characteristics
• Other
• No prior nonhormonal therapy for the current malignancy