In Reply
We agree that the evaluation of lumpectomy margins is fraught with limitations and pitfalls, many of which were enumerated in the Society of Surgical Oncology–American Society for Radiation Oncology consensus guideline.1 Despite those limitations, however, in the current era of multimodality therapy for women with invasive breast cancer, ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence rates are remarkably low.2
1.
Moran
MS
, Schnitt
SJ
, Giuliano
AE
, et al. Society of Surgical Oncology–American Society for Radiation Oncology consensus guideline on margins for breast-conserving surgery with whole-breast irradiation in stages I and II invasive breast cancer
. Ann Surg Oncol
. 2014
;21
(3
):704
–716
.2.
Anderson
SJ
, Wapnir
I
, Dignam
JJ
, et al. Prognosis after ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence and locoregional recurrences in patients treated by breast-conserving therapy in five National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project protocols of node-negative breast cancer
. J Clin Oncol
. 2009
;27
(15
):2466
–2473
. 2016