Question

Assertion (A): Breast conserving treatment is NOT applicable for lobular carcinoma of the breast.

Reason (R): Lobular carcinoma is multifocal in origin.

• A. Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A
• B. Both A and R are true but R is NOT the correct explanation of A
• C. A is true but R is false
• D. A is false but R is true

Hint:

Lobular carcinoma often grows in several spots at once, which works against breast conserving surgery.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Step 1: Understanding the Assertion and Reason:
The assertion says breast conserving treatment (removing only the tumour and a rim of normal tissue, followed by radiotherapy) is not suitable for invasive lobular carcinoma of the breast. The reason given is that lobular carcinoma tends to arise at multiple sites within the breast at the same time.

Step 2: Evaluating the Reason.
Invasive lobular carcinoma is well known for growing in a diffuse, single file pattern of small cells that infiltrate breast tissue without forming an obvious firm lump. Because of this growth pattern, it often shows up as multiple separate foci (multifocal) or in more than one quadrant of the same breast (multicentric), more often than the common ductal type of breast cancer. So the reason is true.

Step 3: Evaluating the Assertion.
Because lobular carcinoma frequently involves several areas of the breast rather than one clean lump, it becomes hard for a surgeon to remove all of the disease with a single, well defined lumpectomy while still leaving a good cosmetic result. For this reason, classical surgical teaching favours mastectomy over breast conserving treatment for lobular carcinoma of the breast, especially when disease is diffuse or multicentric. So the assertion is also true.

Step 4: Linking the two statements.
The multifocal, diffuse growth of lobular carcinoma is exactly why it is difficult to clear with breast conserving surgery, so the reason correctly explains the assertion.

Step 5: Final Answer:
Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.