A total of 48 women with Paget's disease of the nipple (nipple eczema containing Paget cells but without a palpable lump) presented to one surgeon over a 13-year period. Temporary healing of the nipple eczema occurred in six patients. In all, 21 of 34 patients with in situ (DCIS) or invasive ductal carcinoma had mammographic abnormalities. Treatment was by simple mastectomy (37 cases), cone excision of the nipple-areola complex (ten cases) and tamoxifen (one case). DCIS was found in 45 operative specimens (96 per cent); eight had associated invasion. The DCIS was predominantly large cell solid/comedo in type and was multifocal in seven cases (19 per cent). At a median (range) follow-up of 56 (18-96) months, four of the ten patients treated by cone excision have developed a local recurrence, two of these patients have also developed metastases. Two of the 37 patients who underwent mastectomy developed loco-regional recurrences; both had invasive foci at their first operation and remain disease free at 8 years. We no longer feel that cone excision is appropriate treatment.

Ninety-eight consecutive patients with primary operable breast cancer and an initial diagnosis of no regional lymph node metastases as assessed by conventional light microscopy were studied. Immunohistological staining of routine lymph node sections was assessed using two monoclonal antibodies: CAM 5.2 (Becton Dickinson) with specificity for low molecular weight cytokeratin, and NCRC-11 (CRC Laboratories, Nottingham) with specificity for epithelial mucin antigen. Positive staining for occult metastases was seen in nine patients with CAM 5.2 and in eight of these nine with NCRC-11. At a follow-up out to 14 years, there was no difference in overall survival, in recurrence-free survival, or in frequency of or time to presentation of local or regional recurrences between occult metastasis-positive and occult metastasis-negative patients. This study concludes that while immunohistological staining of routine lymph node sections increases the diagnostic yield of metastases, it is not to be recommended as this increase is of no useful clinical value.

The clinical and histological features of six cases of granulomatous lobular mastitis are presented. All six patients were parous, 1–6 years after their last pregnancy with a mean age of 34 years; all had unilateral disease and presented with an extra‐areolar breast lump. Histologically, all demonstrated a non‐caseating granulomatous inflammatory condition centred on breast lobules; in four women there was an acute inflammatory process with micro‐abscess formation. Five of the six cases had persistent or recurrent disease despite wide local excision; surgery might not be the best treatment for recurrent disease.

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A retrospective study was carried out to determine the clinical significance of local recurrence after simple mastectomy and node biopsy for primary operable breast cancer, without postoperative irradiation or systemic adjuvant therapy. Local recurrence was defined as a histologically proven lesion in or deep to the mastectomy skin flaps. A total of 966 patients with a median follow-up of 7 years were reviewed. Of these, 223 (23 per cent) developed local recurrence but half the tumours were small single lesions; 70 women had multiple discrete lesions and 21 diffuse carcinomatous dermal infiltration. Local recurrence showed significant associations with tumour grade, nodal status and the presence of lymphovascular invasion in the primary tumour. A predictive index containing these three variables was constructed. Adjuvant irradiation of the flaps is recommended for patients with high scores; such women would otherwise have a 39 per cent chance of developing local recurrence by 5 years. Different types of local recurrence have different chances of responding to local therapy: 13 per cent of single local recurrences, 32 per cent of multiple spot recurrences and 70 per cent of the diffuse type failed to respond to local therapy. Local recurrence predicts reduced patient survival.