Mastectomy Instead of BCS: What Is the Role of the Surgeon's Recommendation?

Although rates of breast-conserving surgery (BCS) have risen substantially during the last 2 decades, many clinicians feel that mastectomy is still performed too often. To assess reasons for mastectomy as initial treatment and rates of mastectomy after attempted BCS, investigators surveyed women with ductal carcinoma in situ or stage I–II breast cancer. Participants were asked which procedure was recommended by their initial surgeons (and why) and, if applicable, by second surgeons.

Of 1984 respondents, 66% indicated that their first surgeons had recommended BCS, 17% reported that mastectomy was initially recommended, and 17% said that neither procedure was recommended over the other. In more than two thirds of women who received initial rec…