Breast cancer management

Abstract

An operation less than a modified radical mastectomy should not be done for patients with primary operable breast carcinoma; however, the best operation for these patients is not yet known. Routine postoperative irradiation therapy for patients with positive axillary nodes has not increased survival. Adjuvant chemotherapy appears to be of benefit for select patients with histologically positive axillary lymph nodes. A grant to study the management of breast cancer in the State of Alabama has been made to the University of Alabama in Birmingham through the Cancer Center. This support affords a unique opportunity to conduct a randomized trial comparing modified radical mastectomy with radical mastectomy and to further evaluate postoperative chemotherapeutic drug regimens in node positive patients. The potential benefits of such a study warrant its enactment and should help clarify parts of the therapeutic dilemma of this common cancer. A subsequent article in the journal will outline the specific proposed protocols which have been developed by the advisory committee. All Alabama surgeons will be given an opportunity to participate in the study.