From June 1952 through December 1976, 695 radical operations were performed on 653 women suffering from invasive cancer of the breast. All operations were performed by a single surgeon (E.G.); the same principles in the selection of the patient techniques of surgery and overall treatment were practiced. Postoperative radiation therapy was used only in the beginning of the study, and 56 (15.9%) of the group with axillary metastases received such therapy. No patient with negative axillary lymph node received radiation therapy. No postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy or immunotherapy was administered. Complete follow‐up data were obtained in 94.7% of all patients. In accord with the UICC clinical classification, 96 were classified as stage I (14.7%), 445 as stage II (68.1%), and 111 as stage III (17.%); 1 (0.1%) was not classified. From the 653 patients, 651 (two postoperative deaths) were observed for an average of 141.9 months. The longest period of follow‐up evaluation for any patient was more than 35 years and the minimum, 10 years. Survival was calculated for the entire study group and for patients classified by nodal status and stage of disease. The 10‐year overall survival rate for 651 patients is 60.4%; for those with positive nodes 46.4%, and for those with negative nodes, 76.7%. The overall survival, according to clinical stage, was as follows: the 5‐year survival for patients in stage I was 89.5%, and the 10‐year survival was 83.1%. In the stage II group, the 5‐year survival was 76.1% and the 10‐year survival, 58.5%. The patients in stage III had only a 62.1% 5‐year survival and a 47.7% 10‐year survival. Copyright © 1990 Wiley‐Liss, Inc., A Wiley Company