Better Overall Survival for Breast Cancer Patients by Adding Breast Ultrasound to Follow-Up Examinations for Early Detection of Locoregional Recurrence—A Survival Impact Study

Abstract We retrospectively reviewed patient records to evaluate the effectiveness of our 15 y of ultrasound (US) surveillance of recurrent breast disease in comparison with mammography (MM) and clinical examination. From 4796 stage 0–III breast cancer patients who had received surgical treatment, we identified locoregional recurrence (LRR) in 161 patients. The mean age of the 161 patients was 48 y (27–82 y), and the mean follow-up interval was 77.2 mo (11–167 mo). The methods of LRR detection, sites of LRR and overall survival (OS) were examined. Multivariate Cox survival analysis showed significantly better survival in groups detected by US (hazard ratio = 0.6, p  = 0.042). The 10-y LRR OS by detection types for US (n = 69), clinical examination (n = 78) and MM (n = 8) were 58.5%, 33.1% and 100%, respectively ( p  = 0.0004). US was seen with better OS associated with the effective early detection of non-palpable LRR breast cancer, which is mostly not detectable on MM.