Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 29, 2026

Single-Port Robotic-assisted Transaxillary Breast-conserving Surgery: A Prospective, Single-arm, Non-randomized Phase IIa Clinical Trial
Published on: August 19, 2025
Impact of SSO-ASTRO margin guidelines on reoperation rates following breast-conserving surgery
Alex Monaghan1, Núria Chapinal2, Lauren Hughes1
1Department of Surgical Oncology, Sindi Ahluwalia Hawkins Centre for the Southern Interior, BC Cancer Agency, Kelowna, BC, Canada; Southern Medical Program, University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, BC, Canada.
Background:
Re-operation rates following breast-conserving surgery (BCS) for early invasive breast cancer are highly variable, largely due to uncertainty regarding adequate margins. The 2014 SSO-ASTRO guidelines recommended "no ink on tumor" as adequate margins. We evaluated the effect of guideline implementation on re-operation following BCS at our regional cancer center.
Methods:
Retrospective chart review was performed on records for patients with early invasive breast carcinoma undergoing BCS between February 2011 and May 2017. Time period, pathologic margin status, patient and tumor characteristics were assessed for their impact on re-operation rates.
Results:
Overall re-operation rate decreased following the guidelines release (OR 0.28, 95% C.I. 0.15-0.51, p = <0.0001), with an unadjusted decrease of 3.89%. Re-operations on both close (OR 0.17, 95% C.I. 0.07-0.40, p = <0.0001) and widely negative (OR 0.20, 95% C.I. 0.05-0.77, p = 0.02) margins decreased in the post-guidelines time period.
Conclusion:
SSO-ASTRO margins guideline release was associated with decreased re-operation. Furthermore, re-operations rates decreased in patients with pathologically negative margins, the target population the guidelines were meant to address.
More Related Videos
11:05Tissue-simulating Phantoms for Assessing Potential Near-infrared Fluorescence Imaging Applications in Breast Cancer Surgery
Published on: September 19, 2014
07:14A Quantitative Sensory Testing Paradigm to Obtain Measures of Pain Processing in Patients Undergoing Breast Cancer Surgery
Published on: January 18, 2018
Related Concept Videos
What is Conservation Biology?
Conservation of Small Populations
Conserved Binding Sites
Binding sites are often located in large pockets, and if their location on a protein’s surface is unknown, it can be predicted using various approaches. The energetic method computationally...
Margin of Error
Conservation of Protein Domains Over Different Proteins
A limited set of protein domains often duplicate and recombine during evolution. These domains can be organized in different combinations to...
Guidelines for Writing Outcome
Patient outcomes reflect the patient's response to the goal rather than what the nurse aims to achieve. Terminology should be observable and measurable to avoid the reader's interpretation. The desired outcome should be realistic and achievable in the designated care timeframe. Expected outcomes should align with adjunctive therapies. The outcome should enhance care...