BMC Cancer 2009, 9:254 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2407/9/254 Table 2: Tumor characteristics of all 204 BCS cases Tumor characteristics Originally palpable mass Yes No Indeterminate Tumor (pT) size (centimeters) Tumor location Upper outer quadrant Upper inner quadrant Lower outer quadrant Lower inner quadrant Subareolar Tumor histopathology Invasive ductal carcinoma Invasive lobular carcinoma Mixed invasive ductal and lobular carcinoma Invasive carcinoma not otherwise specified Mucinous (colloid) carcinoma Papillary carcinoma Adenoid cystic carcinoma Histologic grade Well-differentiated Moderately-differentiated Poorly-differentiated Estrogen receptor positive Progesterone receptor positive Her 2 Neu positive Lymphovascular invasion Associated ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) Associated axillary lymph node involvement Yes No Not assessed Type of original diagnostic breast biopsy 14-gauge core biopsy 8- or 11-gauge ultrasound mammotome biopsy 8- or 11-gauge stereotactic mammotome biopsy Surgical (excisional) biopsy BCS, breast-conserving surgery Number (percentage or range) 79 (39%) 112 (55%) 13 (6%) 1.6 (0.08 – 6.0) 105 (52%) 40 (20%) 29 (14%) 22 (11%) 8 (4%) 165 (81%) 12 (6%) 8 (4%) 7 (3%) 7 (3%) 3 (2%) 2 (1%) 52 (25%) 71 (35%) 81 (40%) 155 (76%) 135 (66%) 26 (12.7%) 36 (18%) 131 (64%) 37 (18%) 158 (78%) 9 (4%) 74 (36%) 52 (25%) 38 (19%) 40 (20%) tion of what is the most optimal manner in which to assess the adequacy of the surgical resection margins. As illustrated in Table 12, the definition and determination of margin positivity during BCS for invasive breast cancer varies widely among all reported series [20-68]. From the endless number of discussions and commentaries on this topic within the medical literature [8-17], it is quite clear that there is absolutely no consensus among clinicians in regards to these important questions. And quite frankly, it is doubtful that any generalized consensus will ever be reached in the near future. Nevertheless, developing a standardized and reproducible methodology for the com- Page 9 of 23 (page number not for citation purposes)