Factors that may contribute to non-radical resections in patients undergoing breast-conserving treatment for breast cancer

Introduction. Breast-conserving treatment in breast cancer consists of radical removal of the cancerous tumour combined with a satisfactory aesthetic result. This study aimed to retrospectively analyse factors that may contribute to non-radical resections in patients undergoing breast-conserving treatment for infiltrating breast cancer and carcinoma in situ. Material and methods. This retrospective study analysed the medical records of 1,312 patients with stage I and II breast cancer and patients with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) who underwent breast-conserving treatment from January 2013 to December 2022. Results. The number of non-radical resections (R1) was 6.4% (80 cases out of 1,237). Fifty-five (4.4%) of R1 patients were re-operated with larger margins and 25 (2%) had a mastectomy. Analysis of factors contributing to a non-radical resection showed a significant correlation with age, histological type, multifocality, preoperative treatment and clinically detectable lesions. Conclusions. The use of contrast-enhanced spectral mammography as a standard method in surgical planning of breast cancer treatment taking into account R1 resection risk factors will allow better selection of patients eligible for breast-conserving treatment.