Segmentectomy Health Article

Definition

Segmentectomy is the excision (removal) of a portion of any organ or gland. The procedure has several variations and many names, including segmental resection, wide excision, lumpectomy, tumorectomy, quadrantectomy, and partial mastectomy.

Purpose

Segmentectomy is the surgical removal of a defined segment or portion of an organ or gland performed as a treatment. In this case, the purpose is the removal of a cancerous tumor. Common organs that have segments are the breasts, lungs, and liver.

Demographics

Segmentectomies are usually performed on patients with lung, liver, or breast cancer.

Lung cancer is the second most common cancer among both men and women, and is the leading cause of cancer death for both genders. Lung cancer kills more people (approximately 157,000 per year) than cancers of the breast, prostate, colon, and pancreas combined. Almost 90% of all lung cancers are caused by cigarette smoking. Other causes include secondhand smoke and exposure to asbestos and other occupation-related substances.

In each of the racial and ethnic groups, the rates among men are about two to three times greater than the rates among women. Among men, age-adjusted lung cancer incidence rates (per 100,000) range from a low of about 14 among American Indians to a high of 117 among African Americans, an eight-fold difference. For women, the rates range from approximately 15 per 100,000 among Japanese to nearly 51 among Alaska Natives, approximately a three-fold difference.

Excluding cancers of the skin, breast cancer is the most common form of cancer among women in the United States. The increase in incidence is primarily due to increased screening by physical examination and mammography. Although breast cancer occurs among both women and men, it is quite rare among men. White non-Hispanic women have the highest rates of breast cancer, over twice the rate for Hispanic women. There are a low number of cases for Alaska Native, American Indian, Korean, and Vietnamese women.

Primary cancers of the liver account for approximately 1.5% of all cancer cases in the United States. About two-thirds of liver cancers are most clearly associated with hepatitis B and hepatitis C viral infections and cirrhosis. This type of liver cancer occurs more frequently in men than in women by a ratio of two to one.