Changes in Benign to Malignant Ratio of Surgically Treated Breast Diseases in a District Hospital

The benign to malignant ratio (BMR) of open surgical biopsies is often used to monitor the efficacy of diagnostic workup of breast lesions. Avoiding the unnecessary removal of benign lesions is of recognized importance. Histopathology archives of the Department of Pathology of the Bács-Kiskun County Hospital were retrieved for breast lesions and the BMR of surgical specimens was determined for each year between the period of 1965-1996. The introduction of mammography and especially fine-needle aspiration cytology was paralleled by a reduction in the benign to malignant ratio from 1.7 to 0.7. Only the introduction of breast aspiration cytology seemed to have a significant effect on the BMR, but the more adequate diagnostic approach to breast lesions (mostly palpable in their nature) was in part masqueraded by the late shift in attitude of both surgeons and patients towards breast lumps. This is why the BMR can give a basic information on preoperative diagnostic workup of breast lesions, but in itself it is not able to monitor them.