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J Clin Oncol 2009;27:1615–20.
Editor’s note: Ductal carcinoma
in situ (DCIS) is primarily a unifocal disease, with only 8% of DCIS patients having a multifocal growth pattern with gaps >10 mm between the foci (
Semin Diagn Pathol 1994;11:193–8). However, even in patients who undergo excision with negative margins, residual low-volume disease is inevitably left in the breast. The role of radiotherapy after breast-conserving surgery (BCS) is to sterilize this residual disease and thus reduce the rate of local recurrence.