A new study shows an equivalent survival rate for women with early stage breast cancer who had a lumpectomy and radiation compared to those who chose a mastectomy.
The researchers used randomized clinical trials with 112,154 women in California with Stage 1 or Stage 2 breast cancer between 1990 and 2004 who were treated with either a lumpectomy and radiation or a mastectomy. Researchers followed vital statistics through December 2009.
The research showed that women who had a lumpectomy had a higher rate of disease-specific survival compared to those who had a mastectomy. This trend was higher among women under the age of 50, but the trend was seen among women above 50 also.
The U.S. Cancer Institute paid for the research, which appeared in the journal Cancer.
Did you find what you were looking for on our website? Please let us know.