Jm. Dixon et al., FACTORS AFFECTING OUTCOME OF PATIENTS WITH IMPALPABLE BREAST-CANCER DETECTED BY BREAST SCREENING, British Journal of Surgery, 83(7), 1996, pp. 997-1001
Factors affecting completeness of excision and outcome, whether conser
vation or mastectomy, in 152 patients with localized impalpable breast
cancer undergoing therapeutic needle-guided wide local excision were
assessed by univariate and multivariate analyses using multiple logist
ic regression. Independent factors related to completeness of excision
at the first operation were operator experience (P=0.0001), and size
of the lesion (P=0.005). Factors related to outcome were operator expe
rience (P=0.0003), more experienced operators having a higher rate of
breast conservation, and tumour size (P=0.0001), larger lesions being
more likely to be treated by mastectomy. Patients initially operated o
n by the two most experienced surgeons were more than four times less
likely to undergo mastectomy than those whose initial wide local excis
ion was performed by a less experienced surgeon.