RESUMEN
OBJETIVE: To know the surgical-pathologic correlation to assess the state of the edges in wide local excisions of breast cancer in clinical stages. MATERIAL AND METHODS: retrospective and descriptive study, conducted in Breast Tumors Unit from Oncology Service of the General Hospital of Mexico, in the period from January 2009 to December 2011, with follow-up in December2012. Were included patients with breast cancer in early clinical stages, subject wide local excisions histopalogic report of a second surgery. RESULTS: From wide local excisions, 119 (28.5%) were due to breast cancer and included. Positive margins after initial surgery were diagnosed in 63 patients (52.9%). The residual tumor found in the second surgery was 39.7%. The variables associated with the presence of positive margins and statistically significant (p≤ 0.05) were: multicentricity, tumor size clinical and pathological, histological subtypes, and tumor grade. The age and clinical stage were not statistically significant. The variables associated with the presence of residual tumor and are statistical relevance (p≤ 0.05) were clinical stage, tumor size, clinical and pathological, histological variant and histological grade. Age and multicentricity were not associated with the presence of residual tumor. CONCLUSION: Although each case must be individualized, these results demonstrate the analyzed factors must be taken into account during the planning of breast conservative procedures, and despite an histopalogical report of margin after an initial surgery, even seconds procedures can be performed to conserve the organ.