Study: Breast Cancer Survival Similar for Lumpectomies, Mastectomies

Women with early breast cancer who have lumpectomies have similar long-term survival rates to those who have mastectomies, according to a study reported in the journal Cancer.

In the study, a total of 237 women who had either radical mastectomies or lumpectomies followed by removal of lymph nodes and radiation therapy were followed for an average of 18 years.

At the end of the study, Dr. Matthew M. Poggi of the National Cancer Institute said researchers found "there was no detectable difference in overall survival or disease-free survival" in the two groups of patients.

Overall survival was 58 percent for women who had mastectomies compared to 54 percent for those who had lumpectomies.

Some of the women who had lumpectomies eventually had mastectomies for what were referred to as "in-breast" events. .

"But after nearly 20 years of follow-up, there was no detectable difference in overall survival or disease-free survival in patients with early-stage breast carcinoma who were treated with mastectomies compared with those treated with breast conservation therapy," the researchers cocluded.

Other Sources: Cancer