Summary

Postmastectomy radiotherapy (RT) has been shown to reduce mortality and risk of recurrence in all patients with node-positive breast cancer considered as a single group, but until now, the benefit to women with only 1 to 3 positive nodes has been unclear. This article presents results from the Early Breast Cancer Trialists' Collaborative Group meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials comparing postmastectomy RT to no RT where both trial arms had the same surgery and where systemic therapy, if given, was the same in both trial arms.