Abstract
Radical mastectomy is excellent only for cases of operable breast cancer in which the tumor is limited to the breast or to the nodes in the axilla. That there is metastasis to the internal mammary lymph nodes in a high proportion of cases has been “overlooked” for many years. Also it is probable that metastasis occurs to the supraclavicular lymph nodes more often than is suspected. Hence the extended radical mastectomy operation leaves much to be desired. There has been no significant improvement in recent years in the mortality rate of mammary cancer.
Simple mastectomy and thorough adequate postoperative radiation therapy have much to offer.
Treatment of “operable” breast cancer should be a cooperative effort of surgeon, radiation therapist and pathologist.
Full text
PDF
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- ARHELGER S. W., LEWIS F. J., WANGENSTEEN O. H. The extended or super-radical mastectomy for carcinoma of the breast. Surg Clin North Am. 1956 Aug;:1051–1063. doi: 10.1016/s0039-6109(16)34946-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Batson O. V. THE FUNCTION OF THE VERTEBRAL VEINS AND THEIR ROLE IN THE SPREAD OF METASTASES. Ann Surg. 1940 Jul;112(1):138–149. doi: 10.1097/00000658-194007000-00016. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- HANDLEY R. S., THACKRAY A. C. Invasion of internal mammary lymph nodes in carcinoma of the breast. Br Med J. 1954 Jan 9;1(4853):61–63. doi: 10.1136/bmj.1.4853.61. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- MACDONALD I. Biological predeterminism in human cancer. Surg Gynecol Obstet. 1951 Apr;92(4):443–452. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- STEIN J. J., COSTOLOW W. E., MELAND O. N. The management of breast cancer; surgical treatment and irradiation. J Int Coll Surg. 1951 Mar;15(3):299–308. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- URBAN J. A. Radical mastectomy with en bloc in continuity resection of the internal mammary lymph node chain. Surg Clin North Am. 1956 Aug;:1065–1082. doi: 10.1016/s0039-6109(16)34947-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- WYATT J. P., SUGARBAKER E. D., STANTON M. F. Involvement of internal mammary lymph nodes in carcinoma of the breast; studies of the extended radical mastectomy. Am J Pathol. 1955 Jan-Feb;31(1):143–151. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]