title: Timing of surgery during the menstrual cycle and prognosis of breast cancer.
abstract: There are conflicting reports on the differential effect of surgery performed during the two phases of the menstrual cycle, namely, follicular and luteal, and prognosis of operable breast cancer. A statistical meta-analysis of the published evidence suggests a modest survival benefit of 15+/-4% when the operation is performed during the luteal phase. Further research in this area might provide a novel avenue to understand the natural history of breast cancer. A spin off from these studies might be the understanding of the importance of events that occur at the time of surgery in determining long term prognosis.
authors.affiliation: Breast Unit, Tata Memorial Centre, Parel, Mumbai 400 012, India.
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Badwe
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mittra
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Havaldar
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008183:Luteal Phase; D008597:Menstrual Cycle; D011379:Prognosis; D015996:Survival Rate