Lumpectomies Better For Survival Than Mastectomies For Early Stage Breast Cancer Patients Study Reveals

A new cancer study reveals that breast-conserving lumpectomies for early stage breast cancer patients may be better for survival than mastectomies. The study, which was published in the Monday edition of the journal Cancer, also found that odds are stronger for women over 50 with hormone-sensitive cancers, U.S. News & World Report reported.

Dr. Shelley Hwang, lead researcher and chief of breast surgery at Duke Cancer Institute in Durham, N.C., said that for patients with early stage breast cancer, "lumpectomy is just as effective if not more effective than mastectomy." She added, "There are lots of women who think the more [treatment] they do, the better they will do. This refutes that."

According to U.S. News, Hwang and her team analyzed 14 years of data from the California Cancer registry containing over 112,000 women with early stage breast cancer from 1990 to 2004. Of those patients, who ranged from ages 39 to 80, 55 percent had lumpectomy and radiation and 45 percent had mastectomy alone.

The study found that woman who chose lumpectomy and radiation were 13 percent more likely to survive, the Daily Mail reported. The survival odds for women over 50 jumped 19 percent higher than those who had mastectomies. The study also revealed that women who had mastectomies had a higher chance of dying from heart disease and other illnesses than those who had lumpectomies.

Hwang told the Daily Mail, "Our findings support the notion that less invasive treatment can provide superior survival to mastectomy in stage one or stage two breast cancer."

She continued, "Given the recent interest in mastectomy to treat early state breast cancers, despite the research supporting lumpectomy, our study sought to further explore outcomes of breast-conserving treatments in the general population comparing outcomes between younger and older women."

U.S. News reported that not all early stage breast cancer patients can opt for lumpectomies. Those whose cancers are too big or have several different cancers in the same breast usually cannot opt for the breast-conserving procedure. Hwang told reporters that the rise in mastectomy in recent years may be due to women fearing lumpectomy.

However, the new study may reverse the trend of rising mastectomies among breast cancer patients, Dr. Laura Kruper, co-director of the breast oncology program at the City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center in Duarte, Calif., told U.S. News.

Hwang added that while the study is not definitive, it does provide women with breast cancer valuable information. "I don't want women who chose mastectomy to think theu did the wrong thing," Hwand told U.S. News. "At the end of the day, personal preference trumps everything else. I fully support the patient's options to choose the best treatment for themselves."