Breast conservation therapy (BCT) is the complete removal of breast cancer with a margin of normal tissue surrounding the tumor. Standard treatment is to be followed by radiation therapy (RT). The primary goals of BCT are to provide a survival…
Development of the Radical Mastectomy—Historical Aspects The Halsted radical mastectomy, published by William Stewart Halsted in his 1894 seminal report “The result of operations for the cure of cancer of the breast,” transformed that era of breast cancer treatment. The…
Lobular Neoplasia Lobular neoplasia is the overarching nomenclature used to describe the spectrum of proliferative but noninfiltrative changes seen within the lobular units of the breast. Lobular neoplastic lesions include atypical lobular hyperplasia (ALH) and lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS),…
Introduction Breast cancer is the most common female cancer in the United States and worldwide, with significant domestic and global disparities in screening, stage at diagnosis, treatment outcomes, and survival. In the United States, African American (AA) women have a…
Introduction A diagnosis of invasive breast carcinoma, usually made by mammography with pathologic assessment of a needle core biopsy, requires a series of decisions related to selection of most appropriate therapy. These decisions involve an assessment of traditional prognostic factors…
Introduction An estimated 281,550 women were diagnosed with invasive breast cancer and 49,290 women were diagnosed with in situ cancer in 2021 in the United States. One in eight women are expected to be diagnosed with breast cancer as compared…
Introduction The rare tumors of the breast are a heterogeneous group of typically triple-negative tumors. With some notable exceptions, these tumors are low grade and are relatively indolent despite their triple-negative status and frequent basal phenotype. These tumors can be…
Vascular Tumors Angiosarcoma Angiosarcomas (AS) are the most common sarcomas encountered in the breast. They account for <1% of all breast malignancies. They are divided into two categories: primary AS (idiopathic) and secondary AS. Secondary AS most often occur following…
Definition and Epidemiology Malignant lymphoma arises within lymph nodes or develops outside of nodal tissues (extranodal). Primary extranodal presentation of lymphoma occurs in 20% to 30% of cases and involvement of the breast is uncommon. The diagnosis of primary breast…
Introduction Fibroepithelial lesions of the breast are biphasic neoplasms comprised of variable amounts of stroma and benign epithelial elements. This spectrum of entities includes fibroadenomas and phyllodes tumors. Hamartomas are composed of the lobular glands of normal breast tissue set…