[Breast cysts--diagnostic and therapeutic management and risk for subsequent development of breast carcinoma]

Cystic breast disease is a relatively widespread pathological condition in the female sex, it has an incidence of around 7% and predominantly affects women aged between 35 and 50 year old. The diagnosis is based on the standardised protocol including breast examination, mammography, fine-needle aspiration cytology and pneumocystography. While the majority of cysts can be managed by simple aspiration, a small percentage (0.3-1.4%) are malignant. The clinical and pathological features of 7 cases of intracystic carcinoma of the breast which are 0.73% of all cases of cystic breast disease between 1996-2001, are considered in the present article.