OBJECTIVES:

To determine the usefulness of quadrantectomy cavity shaving for breast cancer in reducing reoperation and to explore its associated factors and describe sociodemographic and clinical data of the patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

A retrospective, descriptive, retrospective cohort study conducted between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2018 in patients older than 18 years with histologic diagnosis of invasive and in situ breast cancer who underwent quadrantectomy with shaving of all cavity margins. This is the registry of patients of a surgeon in Medellin, Colombia. Demographic, clinical, and paraclinical data were collected and analyzed using descriptive statistics.

RESULTS:

194 patients with a mean age of 61.6 years were included. The margins were negative in 85.6% (n = 161) and positive in 14.4% (n = 28). The shaved cavity was involved in 16% (n = 31), no reintervention was required in 95.9% (n = 186), and 4.1% (n = 8) underwent reintervention. The reduction in reoperation was 10.3% (n=20). Factors associated with positive margins were: harpoon marking (OR = 1.19; 95%CI: 1.07-1.32; p = 0.04), multifocal tumor (OR = 3.95; 95%CI: 2.29-6.81; p = 0.00), affected shave (OR = 3.26; 95%CI: 1.75-6.04). No increased risk of local recurrence was found between groups (OR = 0.85; 95%CI: 0.80-0.90; p = 0.35).

CONCLUSIONS:

Shaving all margins of the quadrantectomy cavity was associated with a lower rate of involved margins and fewer reinterventions. Factors associated with positive margins were: harpoon marking, multifocal tumor, and shave damage; there was no increased risk of recurrence.