treatment
Last reviewed 01/2018
After an initial surgical procedure involving conservation of the breast, local recurrence within the breast is frequently treated by mastectomy. This is because further conservative surgery is associated with a relatively high local recurrence rate. 'Salvage' mastectomy can maintain five year survival at greater than 45% in some series. For widespread local recurrence after conservative surgery, systemic treatments e.g. tamoxifen or chemotherapy, can provide symptomatic relief. However, they do not seem to reduce the risk of recurrence.
After an initial mastectomy, local recurrence has a uniformly poor prognosis. Attempted treatments include:
- radiotherapy if not previously used
- adjuvant chemotherapy
- adjuvant hormonal therapy
Further surgery may be associated with a rapid exacerbation of disease and increased morbidity.