Of 21,855 consecutive women prospectively studied with mammography, physical examination, and high-resolution ultrasonography when appropriate, 558 received a diagnosis of nonpalpable, probably benign lesions. Follow-up mammography was recommended for these patients. Characteristically benign lesions and palpable masses were excluded from analysis. The positive predictive value for detection of a nonpalpable, probably benign breast lesion was 0.017. Nine patients ultimately proved to have carcinoma; two of them had noninvasive carcinoma, and two had axillary node metastases. The positive predictive value for detection of a nonpalpable, probably malignant lesion was 0.47. The policy of recommending mammographic surveillance for nonpalpable, probably benign lesions, a viable option for radiologists, has the capability of lowering the rate and therefore the costs of biopsy procedures with negative results.

Compared with the findings from the 1987-1989 study, the frequency of BI-RADS category 3 lesions has remained stable; patient compliance for follow-up has increased; and the positive predictive value of category 3 lesions for cancer has decreased from 1.7% to 0.4% (p = 0.04).

According to the evidence, there is a need for more thorough assessment and quantification of body size and shape and the risk of breast cancer. Using the somatotype methodology, we carried out an original research in order to explore possible associations between body shape and the risk of breast cancer in Uruguayan women. With this objective, 254 recent breast cancer cases and 1,000 frequency-matched healthy controls were interviewed on menstrual and reproductive story, and a series of skinfolds, circumferences and diameters were measured specifically to calculate somatotype. A positive association with breast cancer was found for high endomorphy (Odds Ratio [OR] = 2.82, p < 0.001), mainly among premenopausal women (OR = 4.98, p <0.001) and normoweight women (OR = 5.12, p = 0.002), whereas almost no differences were observed for mesomorphic and ectomorphic women. Analysis showed a high mesoendomorphic pattern in the study population. Further studies are needed to confirm the present results obtained in a country with high incidence of the disease.