There is no particular amount of margin that was required to minimize local recurrence once the tumors seemed to be totally removed. This has been duplicated at several major centers across the country. The point may well be taken that negative margins are better than positive margins. This information is routinely relayed to women with breast cancer. The option of repeat excision is suggested to women.
Some women eagerly take up the possibility while others refuse to go through additional surgery.
Data from other studies such as The National Surgical Adjuvant Breast Project, which randomized women to radiation or radiation plus chemotherapy, found markedly lower rates of local recurrence in those women receiving chemotherapy plus radiation for invasive breast cancer. There is also data suggesting that Tamoxifen with lumpectomy radiation can reduce the recurrence rate. Obviously additional studies are necessary to collaborate this. In the meanwhile women here are encouraged to undergo complete excision of the tumor and appropriate radiation and systemic treatment as indicated by a pathologic criteria.