Malignant Breast Disease Quiz

See Invasive Carcinoma. Option D is correct. Breast-conserving surgery removes only the area of the breast that contains cancer, and it is also called a lumpectomy or wide local excision. The surgeon removes the tumour together with a rim of surrounding normal breast tissue, called the margin. The margin matters because cancer cells can extend beyond what can be seen or felt, and the pathologist examines the edge of the removed tissue under the microscope. If the margins are clear of tumour (negative margins), the cancer is considered completely excised. This keeps most of the breast. Whether it is suitable depends on the size and spread of the tumour in relation to the breast, as well as the patient's wishes and other clinical factors, and a mastectomy, the removal of the whole breast, is the alternative. Treating the lymph nodes in the armpit is a separate part of the operation and cannot replace removing the tumour in the breast. Memory aid: lump-ectomy removes the lump and a margin; mast-ectomy removes the breast.

• Operation: breast-conserving surgery (lumpectomy or wide local excision) removes the tumour with a rim of normal tissue.
• Margins: clear margins mean the cancer is completely excised.
• Alternative: mastectomy removes the whole breast.