Optimal surgical treatment of breast cancer: implications for local control and survival

Improvements in the local control of primary breast cancer have been shown to improve long-term survival. The role of surgical therapy in maximizing local control includes: appropriate patient selection for breast conservation; tumor resection with pathologically free margins; careful staging with sentinel node biopsy; appropriate use of axillary dissection; and meticulous surgical technique to achieve these goals. Each component of surgical therapy has the potential for maximizing local control, and therefore for extending survival.