Shave Margins vs. Standard Partial Mastectomy in Breast Cancer Patients

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy affecting women in the US. Surgical management is the mainstay of therapy, and in general consists of resection of the primary tumor with either a partial mastectomy (aka "lumpectomy") or a total mastectomy. The investigators hypothesize that routine shave margins during partial mastectomy will significantly reduce positive margin rate. A positive margin means that cancerous cells were detected at the edge of the excised area. This generally mandates a return to the operating room for re-excision.