Wide excision as a method of breast-conserving surgery for breast cancer

Breast-conserving treatment has become the standard treatment for early breast cancer, not only in Western countries but also in Japan. Wide excision is perferred to quadrantectomy because the former results in better cosmesis than the latter. However, the margin status may be positive more frequently in the former than in the latter. The results of our study indicated that positive margins and the absence of radiotherapy or endocrine therapy proved to be independent risk factors for local recurrence. Because margin status influences local control, tumor margins after wide excision should be accurately determined, and higher doses of radiotherapy and adjuvant therapy are indicated for patients with positive margins.