ABSTRACT

Although the survival rates may be equal for these two treatment modalities, the local recurrence rate was found to be twice as high in the BCT patients as opposed to the mastectomy patients ( 1 ). The less tissue margin removed around the tumor, the higher the recurrence rate (13.3% for lumpectomy versus 5.3% for quadrantectomy) ( 5 ). The local recurrence rate was also affected by radiation (39.2% for lumpectomy alone versus 14.3% for lumpectomy plus radiation). Pre-menopausal women and those with tumors displaying an extensive intraductal component had the worst prognosis for local recurrences.