Mastectomy Versus Breast-Conserving Surgery

Indications for the use of mastectomy over breast-conserving surgery include

• Multicentric disease or diffuse microcalcifications
• Invasive carcinoma with extensive ductal carcinoma in situ component
• Positive margins after breast conservation attempts
• Cancer recurrence in a previously irradiated breast
• A breast with previous breast-conserving surgery
• Tumor size relative to breast size that would not allow for acceptable cosmetic outcome
• Patients for whom radiation therapy is contraindicated or unavailable.