[The surgical treatment of nonpalpable breast carcinomas]

The wide-spreading use of mammography in clinical approach and in screening programmes contributed to a sensible modification in the population of patients affected by breast malignancies. A special increase has been recorded in non-palpable breast tumors. The Authors have analyzed a total of 135 patients with impalpable breast lesions during the period 1990-1997. All patients underwent fine needle stereotactic aspiration for cytology and in the meantime the lesions were marked with charcoal suspension and within 15 days time a surgical open biopsy was performed. The subgroup of malignant lesions was then surgically treated either with radical quadrantectomy or mastectomy. The results of the analysis confirmed that fine needle biopsy is an imperfect test because of its low sensibility and impossibility of distinguishing between infiltrating and "in situ" carcinomas; the stereotactic tattooing of the lesions is reliable for surgical approach. The rate of in situ carcinomas is remarkably higher than in non selected group of patients affected by palpable cancers. Pathologic staging confirms that non-palpable tumors are of better prognosis and they should benefit in large majority of a conservative surgical treatment.