[Pathological differential diagnosis of early breast cancer]

Early cancer of the breast includes those categories of the so-called early breast cancer (TNM Stage I), minimal breast cancer, noninvasive breast cancer and T0 breast cancer. In the breast, it seems extremely rare that the lesion is genuine border-line of malignancy. A papillary or lobular lesion is usually worrisome in differential diagnosis, either benign or malignant. Sclerosing adenosis is most likely to be overdiagnosed as malignant. Tubular carcinoma, low papillary carcinoma and clinging carcinoma are most likely to be underdiagnosed as benign. To avoid overdiagnosis and/or underdiagnosis of malignancy, it is essential to learn exactly every histologic feature of various lesions.