Factors contributing to local recurrence after conservative breast surgery for early-stage breast cancer

Abstract

Background Breast-conserving surgery is the standard procedure for early breast cancer. Local recurrence after conservation is the main problem, and many factors can predict this local recurrence. Aim To highlight factors that may contribute to local recurrence after conservative breast surgery for early breast cancer in our Egyptian patients. Patients and methods A prospective cohort study was conducted that included 137 patients from breast clinic, Ain Shams University Hospitals. All patients were candidates for conservative breast surgery for primary early-stage breast cancer. They were followed up from January 2016 to December 2017 based on a fixed schedule. Results Incidence of local recurrence was 2.9%. Mean time to local recurrence was 14 months (range: 12–16 months). Tumor grade and estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor status were the most important prognostic factors affecting local relapse. On the contrary, age, family history, tumor size, safety margin, tumor type, lymph node (LN) status, HER-2 status, Ki-67, and intraductal component did not have a significant effect on local recurrence. Conclusion Patients with high-grade tumors, estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor negativity should be treated aggressively. As all cases of local recurrence occurred in the first 16 months in our study, we strongly recommend that the scheduling of surveillance visits should be more frequent during the first 2 years (at least every 3 months).