[Clinical morphology of early breast cancer]

True early forms of mammary cancer include tumours undetectable in routine clinical examinations and histologically presenting intraductal and lobular cancer (cancer in situ and with beginning invasion) in the absence of metastases. Parallel histological and cytological examinations and cytospectrophotometric determination of the DNA content increase the validity of the differential diagnosis between benign displasias and carcinoma in situ. Stages of composite clinico-roentgenilogical and morphological diagnosis of early mammary cancer have been developed. Two mammographic signs: accumulations of finest calcinates and filamentous tumour node less than 10 mm in diameter, permit to diagnose clinically latent cancer which has two forms of growth, diffuse and nodular. The diffuse form in some cases presents a stage preceeding the nodular form.