Stereotactic biopsy uses specialized mammography equipment to calculate precisely the location of a lesion in three dimensions. Stereotactic biopsy can be performed with the patient prone on a dedicated table or with the patient sitting…

The goals of needle localization are to assist the surgeon in removing a nonpalpable breast mass that is suspicious or highly suggestive of malignancy and to minimize the amount of tissue that must be sacrificed…

The Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS™) lexicon was developed by the American College of Radiology (ACR) in an effort to standardize terminology used…

Abnormalities found on mammographic screening may need further evaluation with additional mammographic views or other imaging modalities, such as ultrasound or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In some screening programs, the mammograms are reviewed by the…

As breast cancer increases in size, there is a higher frequency of axillary metastases and a higher mortality rate. Tumor size for infiltrating breast carcinomas has been classified as T1 (<2 cm), T2 (2-5 cm),…

Women who have breasts that appear dense on a mammogram are at increased risk for breast cancer. The reason for the increase in risk is unknown. Denser breasts may…

Breast cancer is one of the most prevalent malignancies among women in the western world. Well-designed scientific trials in the diagnosis and management of this disease remain paradigms for investigators in all fields.

Among the sites of systemic failure most prevalent in patients with breast cancer, brain and bone metastases are very adequately treated with brief courses of radiation. In certain circumstances, surgical excision of a…

Among patients who experience failure within the treated breast after breast-conservation therapy, mastectomy is the standard of care. When there has been a considerable disease-free interval between the treatment of the primary tumor…

Two important changes have occurred over the last decade in the definition of locally advanced breast cancer.  First, T3N0 lesions have now been categorized as Stage IIB disease, reflecting their…

NSABP-B04 demonstrated that radiation, in lieu of axillary dissection, for patients with clinical N0 or N1 breast cancer was adequate treatment and secured local control in the majority of patients.

Currently, most…

During the course of therapy, patients commonly experience erythema, irritation and tenderness of the treated breast. Occasionally, there is blistering in the inframammary and anterior axillary region. Our policy on skin care is…

Six randomized trials, both in the United States and Europe, demonstrated conclusively that lumpectomy followed by radiation therapy to the conserved breast tissue was as effective as modified radical mastectomy in…

Breast cancer was the first major malignancy demonstrated to be adequately treated with organ preservation. The impact of the randomized trials performed in the United States and Europe to investigate the effectiveness…

In summary, the identification of a germline BRCA mutation in a woman with breast or ovarian cancer should not, at present, influence her local or systemic treatment. The recognition of a hereditary breast…

Given the uncertain utility of screening programs (secondary prevention) in this high-risk population, some women consider undergoing surgical procedures in an attempt to manage their risk. Bilateral risk-reducing…

Surveillance options for individuals with germline BRCA mutations are necessarily built on expert opinion. Unfortunately, there has been no formal demonstration that any approach will impact cancer-specific mortality…

From a clinical perspective, it is important to determine whether or not BRCA-associated malignancies are distinct, either in appearance, biology or outcome. BRCA-associated breast cancers are usually infiltrating ductal…

The identification of unaffected women with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations provides an opportunity to reduce cancer mortality by enrolling such ndividuals in intensive surveillance and prevention programs.…

It is important to bear in mind that not all families with a pedigree suggestive of hereditary breast cancer are linked to BRCA1 or BRCA2. Alterations in other genes, such as…

Ethnic status strongly influences the probability of detecting a mutation in BRCA1 or BRCA2. In the United States, Jewish women do not, as a group, manifest a significantly…

The probability of detecting a BRCA mutation in a given individual varies greatly with the clinical scenario. In two population-based series of unselected breast cancer cases, the rate of…

The functions of BRCA1 and BRCA2 are incompletely defined. The genes share little sequence homology, although there are some similarities in exon structure.

The susceptibility…

There are several possible explanations for the observed tendency of breast cancer to cluster in families. Chance may cause a common disorder such as breast cancer to…