Conserving Surgery - Balance between Good Cosmetic Aspect and Local Disease Control in Incipient Breast Cancer
G. Gogescu, Ș. Marinescu, E. BrătucuOriginal article, no. 4, 2014
New acquisitions in the study of breast cancer, based onseveral retrospective and prospective studies, have led over thepast decades to the possibility of applying conserving methodsof treatment for breast cancer (breast conserving therapy -BCT) in incipient stages. Starting with 1996, a single surgicalteam, among others at the Bucharest Oncology Institute,performed BCT in 497 patients out of the total 2,256 cases ofbreast cancer treated. Work protocol consisted of tumourexcision with safety margins, intraoperative histology exam,samples from all the walls of the remaining cavity, with intraoperativehistology exam, axillary lymphadenectomy, followedby mandatory irradiation of the entire breast, associated or notwith systemic or hormonal adjuvant treatment. 38 patientsdeveloped local disease recurrences, 14 of which in the first 5years. In this paper we present the results obtained throughBCT, as a means of supporting this type of treatmentadequate for patients with initial stage breast cancer, withcosmetic results visibly superior to those of mastectomy.
