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Query: UMLS:C0006142 (breast cancer)
 160,383 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Occult carcinoma of the breast is characterized as a diagnosis made when the finding of axillary metastasis precedes the identification of the primary mammary lesion. This concept must be distinguished from subclinical breast cancer, in which a non-palpable tumor is discovered through radiological image. In 1975, a 56 years old patient presented an axillary metastatic lesion not detected by a conventional mammogram, but revealed by specialized equipment. After a modified radical mastectomy performed at that time, she has remained asymptomatic for 14 years. In 1985, a 51 years old patient, had an axillary clearance after a diagnosis of a malignant lymph node without the identification of the primary lesion on her homolateral breast, in spite of several tests. After 40 months, during her frequent follow-up, a small lump was identified by mammography. The patient underwent a quadrantectomy followed by radiotherapy and is asymptomatic after 2 years. These 2 cases, added to others mentioned in international literature, allow us to consider occult breast carcinoma as a particular type belonging to the special category of Unknown Primary Tumors (UPT), in which the biologic aspects and prognostic index authorize a less aggressive management than is usually accepted for the UPTs.
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PMID:[Occult cancer as a special form of breast carcinoma]. 196 21

Reduction mammaplasty is commonly performed for bilateral macromastia, congenital asymmetry, or as a contralateral symmetry procedure in breast reconstruction following mastectomy for cancer. Occult carcinoma has been detected in 0.06 percent to 0.4 percent of breast reduction specimens. The purpose of this study was to examine the incidence of breast cancer in breast reductions performed in one institution over a 14-year period. The authors reviewed their experience with 800 reduction mammaplasties performed between 1988 and 2001. Six cancers were detected (0.8 percent). Of these cancers, three were invasive (0.4 percent) and three were ductal carcinoma in situ (0.4 percent). Stratified by indication for surgery, there was a trend toward higher detection rates in the reconstruction group (1.2 percent) compared with the macromastia (0.7 percent) or congenital asymmetry (0 percent) groups. Mammography was performed preoperatively in these patients and all results were negative for masses or suspicious microcalcification. Pathological diagnosis was guided by gross specimen evaluation in two patients and specimen radiography in one patient. Reduction mammaplasty has a small but definite risk of finding cancer in the resection specimen.
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PMID:Occult breast carcinoma in reduction mammaplasty specimens: 14-year experience. 1525 87

Occult carcinoma cells in peripheral blood of breast cancer (BC) patients is generally associated with poor disease prognosis. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is a sensitive method for revealing rare circulating cancer cells. The target mRNA must be carefully chosen, as it must be expressed only by malignant cells. In this study, we developed a nested RT-PCR assay for mammaglobin (hMAM) and assessed both its specificity and its sensitivity in the detection of cancer cells in peripheral blood of BC patients. hMAM mRNA was detected by RT-PCR in 156/165 (95%) of fresh BC tissues analyzed. All samples from 66 healthy blood donors and 151 patients with benign breast disease were hMAM negative as assessed by nested RT-PCR. In contrast, hMAM was detected in 16/137 (12%) of peripheral blood samples deriving from BC patients: 0/9 in stage 0, 1/50 (2%) in stage I, 3/33 (9%) in stage II, 1/18 (5%) in stage III and 11/27 (41%) in stage IV. Using nested RT-PCR, we were able to amplify hMAM transcript of one tumour cell/10(6) normal cells. Our data demonstrate that hMAM mRNA detection by RT-PCR is a specific assay potentially suitable for identification of occult cancer cells in peripheral blood of BC patients.
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PMID:Human mammaglobin mRNA is a reliable molecular marker for detecting occult breast cancer cells in peripheral blood. 1611 Jul 60