Histopathologic study of subcutaneous mastectomy specimens from patients with carcinoma of the contralateral breast

Fifty subcutaneous mastectomy specimens, each of which were removed from a patient who had previously undergone radical or modified radical mastectomy of the contralateral breast for carcinoma, were age and date matched to a control group of patients with which carcinoma was not associated. The patients were evaluated with regard to specific types of epithelial proliferative lesions and other entities of fibrocystic disease without knowledge of their group membership. The results included a statistically significant dominance of certain epithelial hyperplasias in the study population and a lack of statistical significance in intergroup difference of some previously suspected lesions, such as sclerosing adenosis and gross cystic disease. It is concluded that the recognition of those forms of epitheliosis associated with carcinoma may help in the management of patients at high clinical risk for carcinoma of the breast.