[Quantitative evaluation of the degree of edema in edematous-infiltrative breast cancer]

Water receptivity test after McClure-Aldrich was used to assess edema of the mammary gland affected by edematous-infiltrative carcinoma. Fifty-five patients with said pathology as well as 20 nodular carcinoma and 22 mastopathy patients in control were examined. Patients failing to respond to a combination of polychemo- hormono-therapy and irradiation showed the following pattern of test parameters: initial time of resolution of a blister produced by intradermal physiologic salt solution injection ranged 3-10 minutes. After treatment, it increased by less than 5 minutes or even decreased. An 81.8 +/- 8.2% remission rate was seen in patients in whom the said indexes were 11-50 minutes and a less than 5 minute increase, respectively. High predictive value of the test was confirmed mathematically.