A Surgical Indication in Incurable Breast Cancer

Excerpt

A recent review of the National Cancer Data Base suggested that there might be a survival benefit to resection of the primary breast cancer in patients with established metastatic disease—i.e., stage IV. Removal of a primary lesion in breast cancer rarely leads to spontaneous response or remission, as it might in renal cell carcinoma. We all remember the few women who seem to have metastatic disease blossom immediately after primary excision in breast cancer. How could it be that excision of the primary cancer will improve survival? Babiera and the M. D. Anderson group1 have performed a detailed review of this issue over the last several years at their institution. Although this is not a prospective randomized trial, it offers some insight into potential explanations for this apparent paradox of a survival benefit from incomplete tumor removal. …