An autopsy study of some routes of dissemination of cancer of the breast.

Autopsy records based on 647 primary carcinomata of the breast provided the data to describe a few possible routes of dissemination of cancer of the breast. Calculations were made to test whether the hypothesis of a multistep dissemination of the tumour from the primary site was likely. A multistep dissemination means that the presence of metastases at peripheral sites is influenced by the presence of the tumour in 3 organs, i.e. lungs, liver and bones, very often seeded by the primary cancer.Several interpretations are discussed, with emphasis on those findings which could be explained in terms of a haematic route of dissemination or in terms of an anatomical proximity.