Risk Factors for Positive Resection Margins in Breast-Conserving Surgery for Breast Cancer—Retrospective Analysis

Abstract

The primary objective of this study was to identify preoperative factors that could be associated with positive resection margins. We also tried to analyze the local recurrence and overall survival in patients who received conservative treatment for early-stage breast cancer and correlate these parameters with preoperative factors. A retrospective examination was conducted on the medical records and pathological reports of 143 patients who underwent breast-conserving surgery (BCS) for breast cancer in our department from 2009 to 2017. Postoperative outcomes were assessed through phone contact and statistical analyses, including GraphPad Prism, and Fisher’s exact test, the Chi-square test, and the log-rank test were employed. The results revealed positive resection margins in 7.69% (11 cases) of the 143 patients, with an overall mortality rate of 16.66% for those with positive margins and 6.59% for those with negative margins. Statistical analysis indicated no significant differences in the overall (p = 0.5) or specific (p = 0.53) survival between the positive and negative margin groups. The positive margins were significantly associated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (p < 0.0001) and the presence of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) (p = 0.01). Among the analyzed factors, two out of sixteen were significantly linked to positive resection margins in BCS, emphasizing their importance in surgical management planning for early-stage breast cancer.