Monday Lecture: Breast Disease

Question 1

There are two types of mammograms: _______________.

Answer 1

screening (for asymptomatic cases) and diagnostic (for symptomatic cases)

A mass is considered a symptom.

Question 2

The __________ reporting system grades mammograms.

Answer 2

BIRADs

Question 3

go through the BIRADs scoring.

Answer 3

• 1: normal; repeat yearly
• 2: benign but abnormal finding like a cyst; repeat yearly
• 3: small chance of cancer; come back in 6 months
• 4: suspicious for cancer (less than 10%); biopsy
• 5: >80% chance of cancer; biopsy

Question 4

Breast discharge has to be ____________ to be suspicious.

Answer 4

spontaneous and unprovoked

Pressing on a breast and getting discharge is frequently normal.

Question 5

Which has a higher survival rate, lumpectomy+radiation or mastectomy?

Answer 5

They actually have the same overall survival. There is a slightly higher rate of recurrence.

Question 6

The _____________ ratio is important in deciding lumpectomy vs. mastectomy.

Answer 6

lump-to-breast

If the breast is small and the lump is large, lumpectomy will be cosmetically unfavorable.

Question 7

Other than size ratio, what else is important in deciding lumpectomy vs. mastectomy?

Answer 7

• Can they complete radiation? (Distance to site can be prohibitive.)
• Can they have repeat mammograms?
• Can the lesion be reliably excised with clear margins?

Question 8

Inflammatory breast cancer results from _______________.

Answer 8

cancer in the dermal lymphatics

Question 9

What surgery is needed for inflammatory breast cancer?

Answer 9

Mastectomy (due to the need to resect skin)

Question 10

Interestingly, ________________ disease has a higher recurrence rate.

Answer 10

pre-invasive

As compared to invasive