OCCULT BREAST CANCER. EXPERIENCE IN CENTRO CLINICO DE ESTEREOTAXIA – CECLINES

Abstract

Despite scientific advances and the numerous meetings of experts around the world and perhaps it´s rare presentation, there are still doubts in the management of patients with occult breast carcinoma (OBC). Some authors suggest that it´s behavior is similar to those breast cancer stage (ST) II/III. Methods: Retrospectively we studied in the database of Centro Clínico de Estereotaxia CECLINES at Caracas, 841 patients, in which OBC represents 0.71% (6/841) and ST II breast cancer 16.52% (139/841). Results: For OBC the median follow up was 4.33 years (0.08-10.25, SD 4.04). In the definitive study of the axillary disecction of OBC there was a median of 2.17 (1-6 +
0.83) positie nodes and for the grup ST II a median of 2.72 (0-9 + 0.26) positive nodes (p>0.05). The recurrence rate for OBC was 16.7% (1/6) and for St II 15.1% (21/139)(p=0.089). The 5y survival for OBC was 83.2% y and for ST II 80.4% (p=0.630). Conclusion: The 5y survival for OBC patients was quietly better than that of ST II. The algorithm proposed seems to be feasible for the management of patients with OBC because it has produce results such as recurrence and survival similar as those reported internationaly.