Lumpectomy Contributions by sshowalter

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Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation website. Available at: http://www.komen.org . Accessed January 31, 2006.

Way LW, Doherty GM. Current Surgical Diagnosis and Treatment . 10th ed. Appleton and Lange; 1994.

Lumpectomy, wide excision, segmentectomy, and partial mastectomy are known as breast-conserving surgeries. Only the malignant area and a small portion of the surrounding healthy tissue are removed. Sometimes, lymph nodes under the arm are also removed (axillary dissection). This procedure is almost always followed by a course of radiation therapy.

Today, breast-conserving surgeries are the preferred type of surgery for eligible women in the early stages of cancer. Studies have shown that breast-conserving surgeries combined with radiation therapy are just as effective as mastectomy in the early stages of breast cancer. However, not all women with stage I or II breast cancer are eligible for this type of surgery. Conditions that might make you ineligible for this procedure include:

• Multiple tumors in different areas of the breast (multicentric tumors)
• One tumor spread throughout the breast (diffuse tumor)
• Tumor located directly beneath the nipple
• A tumor that is large in relation to breast size
• History of scleroderma, systemic lupus, or dermatopolymyositis
• Current pregnancy in the first or second trimester (The radiation used with breast-conserving surgery can injure a fetus.)
• Previous high-dose radiation therapy to the affected breast