Current issues in the surgical management of breast cancer: a review of abstracts from the 2002 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, the 2003 Society of Surgical Oncology annual meeting, and the 2003 American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting.

Three areas of development in the surgical management of breast cancer received significant attention in 2003--breast-conserving surgery, sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy, and ductal lavage. Provocative investigations focusing on these controversial aspects of surgical care were presented at major national oncology meetings throughout the year. The recently published 20-year updates by the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) and the Italian National Cancer Institute confirm the survival equivalence of breast-conserving surgery and mastectomy in early stage disease. Data reveal, however, that this strategy is underutilized in the United States when compared with other countries. A meta-analysis of close to 70 published trials on the use of SLN biopsy has revealed an overall SLN identification rate of greater than 90%, with a false-negative rate of 8.4%. Two major controversies remain to be resolved: Is there a subset of sentinel node-positive patients who may safely avoid complete axillary lymph node dissection? What is the best way integrate lymphatic mapping into neoadjuvant chemotherapy protocols? The strength of ductal lavage as a risk assessment adjunct is related to the ability to detect cellular atypia, a feature associated with a three- to fivefold increased risk for breast cancer. This technique continues to be rigorously evaluated in a number of ongoing studies.