Breast conservation therapy in the 21st century.

摘要

It has been approximately 25 years since the NCI issued its first consensus statement recommending breast conservation therapy (BCT) as the preferred approach for women with early stage breast cancer (1). This followed publication of randomized trials which indicated that breast conservation, consisting of lumpectomy, axillary node dissection (ALND), and whole breast radiation, achieved equivalent distant metastasis-free and overall survival when compared with modified radical mastectomy. This represented a major advance in breast cancer treatment and hundreds of thousands of patients have since been successfully treated with a breast preserving approach, avoiding the disfigurement associated with breast removal.