Abstract
The value of a system for reducing the number of women with breast lumps who consent unnecessarily to mastectomy was assessed. Sixty-one patients with breast lumps were divided preoperatively into three groups with benign, doubtful, and malignant lumps according to clinical, mammographic and ultrasound criteria. On the basis of these criteria written consent was requested from 29 patients for mastectomy and from 32 for only excision of the lump. Fourteen of the 29 patients who gave consent for mastectomy had carcinomas, and none of the 32 patients consenting to only lump excision. In an attempt to improve further on these results the same 61 patients were analysed retrospectively. Criteria based on age and the results of clinical examination and mammography were devised. By using these criteria only 19 women would have had to give consent for mastectomy. This new policy, which was devised to spare many women the stress of consenting unnecessarily to mastectomy, requires to be tested further in a much larger series of patients.
Full text
PDF
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Armitage P., Gehan E. A. Statistical methods for the identification and use of prognostic factors. Int J Cancer. 1974 Jan 15;13(1):16–36. doi: 10.1002/ijc.2910130104. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Jamison K. R., Wellisch D. K., Pasnau R. O. Psychosocial aspects of mastectomy: I. the women's perspective. Am J Psychiatry. 1978 Apr;135(4):432–436. doi: 10.1176/ajp.135.4.432. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Rimsten A., Stenkvist B., Johanson H., Lindgren A. The diagnostic accuracy of palpation and fine-needle biopsy and an evaluation of their combined use in the diagnosis of breast lesions: report on a prospective study in 1244 women with symptoms. Ann Surg. 1975 Jul;182(1):1–8. doi: 10.1097/00000658-197507000-00001. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Rosen P. P. Frozen section diagnosis of breast lesions. Recent experience with 556 consecutive biopsies. Ann Surg. 1978 Jan;187(1):17–19. doi: 10.1097/00000658-197801000-00004. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Shapiro S. Evidence on screening for breast cancer from a randomized trial. Cancer. 1977 Jun;39(6 Suppl):2772–2782. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(197706)39:6<2772::aid-cncr2820390665>3.0.co;2-k. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Stone A. M., Shenker I. R., McCarthy K. Adolescent breast masses. Am J Surg. 1977 Aug;134(2):275–277. doi: 10.1016/0002-9610(77)90362-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]