Place de la radiothérapie dans le traitement des cancers du sein accessibles à une chirurgie conservatrice

Summary rd treatment for limited stage adenocarcinoma of the breast includes lumpectomy (or a quadrantectomy), axillary node dissection, regional radiation therapy and, if the prognostic factors are unfavourable, chemotherapy and/or hormone therapy. This is supported by the results of American and European randomised trials. There have been many attempts at improving the modalities of conservative surgery and postoperative radiation therapy in order to maximise local control and minimise late sequellae. It is also likely that induction chemotherapy and external beam radiotherapy applied in selected cases increase the proportion of patients who can be offered conservative surgery.