A 45-year-old woman undergoes wide local excision for a 1.5 cm invasive ductal carcinoma. The closest surgical margin is 1 mm. According to current guidelines, what is the recommended management?
- A Re-excision to achieve a wider margin
- B Mastectomy
- C No further surgery needed, proceed to radiotherapy ✓
- D Adjuvant chemotherapy alone
Correct answer: C. No further surgery needed, proceed to radiotherapy
Explanation
For invasive breast cancer treated with breast-conserving surgery, a negative margin is defined as no tumor on ink. A 1 mm margin is considered adequate, and re-excision is not required. Re-excision is indicated only when tumor cells are present at the inked margin. This no tumor on ink standard is supported by consensus guidelines.
Reference: Sabiston Textbook of Surgery, 21st ed.
High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP
Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.