Clinical characteristics of women presenting with skin-only recurrence of breast cancer.

Background: Locoregional failure after breast cancer treatment is usually heralded as a significant risk factor for systemic recurrence. However, locoregional recurrence may have different presentations, some of which may represent a more benign course. An example of this is the phenomenon of isolated chest wall recurrence (CWR).

Treatment of the axilla by tangential breast radiotherapy in women with invasive breast cancer.

Background: The objective of this study was to determine if standard tangential breast radiation covered the sentinel lymph node in women with invasive breast cancer.

Methods: Women with invasive breast cancer treated by lumpectomy, radiotherapy and sentinel node biopsy at our institution were included in this study if the sentinel lymph node site had been marked with a clip. Plain films were used to determine if the clip fell within the tangential fields.