title: Landmark trials affecting the surgical management of invasive breast cancer.
abstract: Significant progress has been made in the surgical management of breast cancer. Most women diagnosed with early stage invasive breast cancer can now be managed with breast-conserving therapy to include a segmental mastectomy followed by radiation. Axillary lymph nodes are routinely assessed by sentinel lymph node biopsy. Axillary lymph node dissection is reserved for patients with documented nodal metastasis; however, here too progress has been made because a population of low-risk patients has been identified in whom a complete dissection is not required even in the setting of a positive sentinel lymph node. This article details the landmark clinical trials that have guided the surgical management of breast cancer.
authors: Department of Surgical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Unit 1484, 1400 Pressler Street, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
authors: Dalliah M
authors: DM
authors: Black
authors: Elizabeth A
authors: EA
authors: Mittendorf
mesh_terms: D001365:Axilla; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008197:Lymph Node Excision; D008408:Mastectomy / Q000379:methods*; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D061206:Neoplasm Micrometastasis; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D018714:Radiotherapy, Adjuvant; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D021701:Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy; D016896:Treatment Outcome