Case 051117 "Breast Cancer"

12:14| In the CASE RECORDS OF THE MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL, a 56-year-old woman was referred to the multidisciplinary breast clinic, for management of invasive breast cancer.
She presented with a 1-cm invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast.
On examination, the patient appeared well, and her vital signs were normal. There was a palpable 1.5-cm mass at the 10-o'clock position in the anterior axillary line. There was no discharge or inversion of the nipples and no lymphadenopathy. The results of routine laboratory tests revealed no abnormalities.
One month later, a right partial mastectomy, intraoperative lymphangiography, and sentinel-lymph-node biopsy of the right axilla were performed. Immunohistochemical staining detected positive tumor cells. The tumor was positive for estrogen-receptor protein and faintly positive for progesterone-receptor protein.
The patient returned to the breast clinic one month later for discussion of further management.
 The authors discuss the staging and management of breast cancer with sentinel lymph-node involvement. [Orignal Article]