Preoperative assessment and staging of breast cancer: preliminary communication.

A prospective study has been carried out in 172 women to determine the sensitivity of methods to detect occult metastatic disease in the skeleton and liver. With the exception of bone scintiscans, the results of these tests bore little relationship to recurrence rates. On the other hand, knowledge of the histopathology of the lower axillary (pectoral) lymph nodes is of value in this respect.A follow-up study is also reported which confirms the importance of accurate measurements of the primary tumour clinical node status and oestrogen receptor contact of the tumour in defining prognostic groups. Elastosis (estimated in 165 tumours) did not prove to be a useful prognostic index.