From 1970 through 1981 232 women with breast cancer (190 with T1 N0 M0 and 242 with T2 N0 M0 disease) received postoperative radiotherapy . The usual surgical procedure was simple mastectomy with axillary lymph node dissection. The chest wall was irradiated using 137Caesium up to 40 Gy, while supraclavicular, infraclavicular and axillary lymph node areas were irradiated using 5,7 MeV photons up to 45 Gy. The rate of local recurrence was 2,4% and 3,3% in stage T1 and T2 respectively. The corresponding projected ten-year-survival was 88% and 78%, respectively. These data and results obtained by others may strengthen the grounds for recommending conservative surgical approaches in early stage breast cancer, in combination with tumoricidal radiotherapy, individualized according to the anatomic tumor site.