Mastectomies unnecessary says study
Up until now the total removal of the breast was regarded as the safest way of treating cancer tumours. One in 13 women here develop the killer disease.
The groundbreaking research has been welcomed by the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP).
“It is very good news that the need for aggressive surgery in this area is declining.
“It’s because of some great developments in radiotherapy and chemotherapy that this is happening,” said ICGP communications director Dr Brendan O’Shea.
The Irish Cancer Society (ICS) urged women to be cautious about the study. “This has the potential to be very big but we would advise women to talk with their doctors before doing anything.
“There will still be instances where women will need a mastectomy because of the location of the tumour,” ICS breast cancer helpline manager, Geraldine Gleeson said.
American and Italian scientists studied 2,500 women over 20 years to show the difference between those who had mastectomies, and those who had smaller operations removing a tumour. They found the two treatments have the same survival rates.
The findings could reduce the number of mastectomies carried out worldwide.
“A surgeon who advises a woman with breast cancer to have a mastectomy without making it clear why, and offering her the choice of breast conserving surgery, could face legal action for negligence,” Michael Dixon, consultant surgeon at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary said.
Some women like those with two tumours in the breast or with a large area of pre-cancer, will still require a mastectomy, doctors said.
Dr Stephen Duffy, breast cancer epidemiologist for Cancer Research UK, confirmed that breast removal wasn’t needed all the time.
“My impression is that mastectomy probably still is overused but not to the extent it was 10 years ago,” he said.
