Multicentricity in Breast Cancer: A Study of 366 Cases

Abstract

A total of 366 consecutive modified radical mastectomy specimens were studied for determination of multicentricity. The authors found that 187 samples (49.1%) were multicentric. Ten specimens contained in situ carcinoma without an infiltrating component; eight of them were multicentric. Multicentricity was correlated with various laboratory and clinical features, including patient age, tumor size, histologic type of breast cancer, tumor grade, presence and values of estrogen and progesterone receptors, the amount of solid tissue in the breast, and the family history. The data were organized in eight independent dimensions, four ordinal and four cardinal. Correlation analysis was applied to a cross tabulation supplemented with other statistical tests. The authors found that the factors related to multicentricity were the age of the patient, the size and the histologic type of the tumor, levels of the progesterone receptors more than 50 fmol/mg of protein, and the amount of solid tissue in the breasts. Tumor grade, estrogen receptors levels, and family history were not related to multicentricity. It was concluded that multicentricity is a frequent property of breast cancer. It is more common in young and perimenopausal women. Multicentricity occurs in small tumors but is, more common in larger ones.

The impact of preoperative MRI on breast-conserving surgery of invasive cancer: a comparative cohort study

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Evaluating the Impact of Preoperative Breast Magnetic Resonance Imaging on the Surgical Management of Newly Diagnosed Breast Cancers

“…The rate of multifocality and multicentricity varies widely from 11% to 57%. [1][2][3][4] If these additional foci can be identified preoperatively, the planned surgical management can be altered. Unfortunately, mammograms and ultrasonograms are not sensitive enough to detect some of these synchronous lesions.…”

Assessment of clonal relationships in ipsilateral and bilateral multiple breast carcinomas by comparative genomic hybridisation and hierarchical clustering analysis

“…Breast cancer patients not rarely present multiple tumours (Lesser et al, 1982;Anastassiades et al, 1993;Vaidya et al, 1996). The increased emphasis in recent years on breast-sparing surgical treatment (Holland et al, 1985;Fisher, 1992;Connolly et al, 1995) has made it more clinically important to know whether multiple, ipsilateral breast carcinomas represent several primary tumours (multicentricity) or intramammary dissemination of a single carcinomatous process (multifocality).…”