Predictors of surgical margin status in breast-conserving surgery within a breast screening program

Abstract

Background: Breast-conserving surgery (BCS) requires clear surgical margins to minimize local recurrence. We sought to identify groups of patients at higher risk of involved margins who might benefit from preoperative counselling and/or more generous excision at the first operation. Methods: We reviewed demographic, clinical, radiological and pathological records of all women diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) or invasive cancer (IC) through a population-based breast screening program in Melbourne, Australia between 1994 and 2005. Results: A total of 2,160 women were diagnosed with DCIS or IC. We excluded 199 who had mastectomy (TM) as initial procedure or had missing data. Three..