[Mastopathy. Histological forms and long-term observations]

Long-time observation of women with bioptically secured mastopathy has provided evidence to the effect that, in the context of statistical mean values, aggravated carcinoma risk needed to be expected only along with the presence of atypical epithelial proliferation. The risk to women with atypical Grade III mastopathy (atypical ductal and lobular hyperplasia) was found to be at least four times as high as that to women with simple Grade I mastopathy or to patients without any previous mastopathy record. Grade III mastopathy is identical with atypical hyperplasia of mammary gland parenchyma (according to nomenclature recommendations by the Consensus Meeting of the American Cancer Society, 1985). No hard evidence has, as yet, been produced as to whether atypical hyperplasia is a precancerous lesion or simply a marker for breast cancer. Women thus affected anyway should be kept under long-time monitoring as a high-risk group.