The influence of radiotherapy on cosmetic outcome after breast conservative surgery.

Purpose: The influence of radiotherapy in the cosmetic outcome after conservative surgery for breast cancer was evaluated using an objective method of calculating the asymmetry between the two breasts.

Methods And Materials: One hundred and one patients treated with the same conservative surgery were evaluated for cosmetic outcome. Sixty-one of them received external radiotherapy (50 + 10 Gy) to the residual breast; the remaining 40 underwent surgery only. The aspect of the patients' breasts was objectively assessed for symmetry by means of a computerized technique. A subjective assessment of the cosmetic outcome was performed both by physician and patient. These objective and subjective assessments were compared in the two groups treated with or without radiotherapy.

Results: The results obtained did not show significant differences in terms of cosmetic outcome in the two groups. Skin telangectasia was noted in two radiotherapy patients, while hypertrophic breast scars were only noted in six nonirradiated patients.

Conclusions: We found that standard radiotherapy does not seem to influence the symmetry and the cosmetic results in breast conservative treatment when compared to a similar group of patients with the same quadrantectomy procedure and no radiotherapy.