A consecutive series of 107 patients with early breast cancer treated by tumourectomy, axillary dissection and postoperative radiotherapy was retrospectively reviewed. The average age at presentation was 48, range 30-79. Only 23.4% of women were post-menopausal. Average follow-up time was 48 months, range 19-94 months. Eight-three per cent had palpable lesions, the remaining 16.8% had needle localization. Ninety-four patients (88.7%) had lesions less than 2 cm in diameter clinically. One patient had a lesion greater than 3 cm in diameter clinically. Seventy-two per cent had invasive duct carcinoma. Twenty (18.9%) had invasive disease at the margins and fifteen were re-excised. Of the 20 patients who had invasive disease at the margins, three developed local recurrence. True loco-regional recurrence rate (i.e., loco-regional recurrence rate without distant metastasis) was 2.8%. All had level I and II axillary dissections and 26.4% were up-staged from clinical stage 1 to pathological stage II. Five patients died, three with recurrences and two with unrelated disease. Tumourectomy, axillary dissection and postoperative radiotherapy is an acceptable regimen for early carcinoma of the breast.