Breast conserving surgery for breast cancer: single institutional experience from Southern India

In India, breast conservation rates vary anywhere from 11 to 34%. This is in contrast to western world where breast conservation rates exceed 70% for early breast cancer.

The present study was conducted to analyze the results of breast conservation surgery (BCS) at our institute and compare with that of other facilities in world.

The study was a prospective, outcome analysis study. All patients who underwent BCS were included. Data pertaining to clinical, pathological characteristics and treatment related outcomes were recorded.

The study comprised of retrospective collection of prospective data of 88 patients who underwent breast conservation treatment (BCT) till December 2009.

The statistical analysis included Kaplan-Meier survival analysis for disease-free (DFS) and overall survivals (OS), and univariate analyses to assess each prognostic factor separately using SPSS 16.0 for windows.

Most common tumor location was upper outer quadrant and most common histology was infiltrating duct carcinoma. Median age was 45 years. Eighteen patients received preoperative chemotherapy to conserve the breast. Pathological complete response (pCR) in this subgroup was 39%. Majority had node negative disease and 42 tumors were hormone receptor positive. Median follow-up was 49 months. Two patients developed isolated local recurrences which were salvaged surgically. Seven patients had systemic disease of which 5 had simultaneously failed locally. Overall 5-year DFS was 89 %.

When given an option, patients with breast cancer do desire to conserve their breast.