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TREATMENT OF APPARENTLY EARLY BREAST CANCER 2. WHERE WE ARE GOING
Author(s) -
Magarey C. J.
Publication year - 1972
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1972.tb47505.x
Subject(s) - medicine , axillary lymph nodes , radical mastectomy , radiation therapy , mastectomy , breast cancer , lymph , surgery , axilla , modified radical mastectomy , cancer , general surgery , pathology
A great variety of methods is used to treat patients with apparently early carcinoma of the breast, from superradical mastectomy with postoperative radiotherapy to local excision of the lump alone from the breast. Survival and recurrence rates in uncontrolled series of patients treated by each of these methods are similar: the small differences between them might not be due to the treatment. Many prospective controlled clinical trials are in progress to determine the optimal treatment, and the results of some have been published. Prophylactic postoperative radiotherapy does not seem to prolong survival or prevent distant recurrence after radical mastectomy. Removal of the pectoral muscles and upper axillary lymph nodes seems to be unnecessary, but removal of the lower axillary lymph nodes might be necessary if they are enlarged. The optimal treatment of the lymph nodes will probably be determined in a few years, but the need for mastectomy will not be settled until further trials are carried out. If the results of conservative treatment are as good as those of radical treatment, unnecessary mutilation and morbidity could be avoided.