Is breast conserving therapy or mastectomy better for early breast cancer?

(European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO)) Young women with early breast cancer face a difficult choice about whether to opt for a mastectomy or breast conserving therapy (BCT). New research presented at the ESTRO 35 conference has shown young women, who had early stage breast cancer that had not spread to the lymph nodes and who opted for BCT with radiation therapy, had a 13 percent higher risk of developing a local recurrence of their disease over a 20-year period than women who had a mastectomy and no radiation therapy.
Source: EurekAlert! - Cancer - Category: Cancer & Oncology Source Type: news