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| Professor of radiation oncology at the University of Michigan Dr. Lori Pierce speaks during a press conference at the European breast cancer conference in Barcelona, Spain, Friday, March 26, 2010 |
New research suggests that women with gene mutations that predispose them to breast cancer might not pay a huge price in survival if they choose to preserve their breast instead of having it removed.
In a small study that observed women with BRCA gene mutations and different types of cancer and treatments, patients had two to four times greater risk of a cancer recurrence if they had only the cancerous lump removed instead of the whole breast.
However, their survival rates after 15 years appeared roughly similar, although this type of study cannot prove that one treatment is as good as another.
Results were presented Friday at a breast cancer conference in Barcelona.
Large studies have established that having a lumpectomy followed by radiation may be as effective as a mastectomy for women with early-stage breast cancers.
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