PREOPERATIVE STAGING OF BREAST-CANCER BY PALPATION, MAMMOGRAPHY AND HIGH-RESOLUTION ULTRASOUND

In breast cancer preoperative determination of the tumor size is impor tant for planning breast-conserving operations. In 100 patients with b reast cancer, the preoperative tumor size was measured using clinical, mammographic and sonographic examinations and correlated with the res ults of a subsequent histological examination. Using a high-resolution real-time system, 98 tumors were visible. It was possible to detect n ot only early tumors under 1 cm in diameter, but also intraductal tumo r components. This contributed greatly to the accuracy of the diagnosi s. The sonographic measurement of tumor size demonstrated a correlatio n coefficient of 0.91 and was thus superior to mammography (0.79) and palpation (0.77). Measurement of the total tumor spread, including 39 multicentric lesions, showed an overestimation of 5% for the mammograp hic measurements and an overestimation of 4% for the sonographic measu rements. Tumor extension was underestimated in 33% of the mammograms b ut in only 3% using ultrasound examination. The results, along with th ose of other studies, highlight the role of sonography in the diagnosi s of breast cancer.