Conservative treatment of breast cancer: mammography in patient selection and follow-up.

Conservative surgery and radiotherapy for breast cancer with favorable prognosis results in a low recurrence rate similar to that after mastectomy but with the added benefit of preserving the breast. The mammographic characteristics of the malignant disease before biopsy and the presence of residual disease on the mammogram after biopsy strongly influence the choice of treatment. After radiotherapy, follow-up mammography can accurately monitor postirradiation changes and the occasional development of recurrent cancer.