Nuclear DNA content, histological grade, and clinical course in patients with nonpalpable mammographically detected breast adenocarcinomas.

Sixty-five consecutive female patients, age 35-83, with nonpalpable breast carcinomas detected by mammography were classified with both morphological and cytochemical malignancy grading. Cytochemically, the tumors were divided into euploid and aneuploid types indicating low and high malignancy potential, respectively. The mean follow-up time in the euploid group was 6.7 years and in the aneuploid group 8.0 years. No significant difference in mortality was observed in the two groups comprising 65% euploid and 35% aneuploid tumors. Our results here indicate that an early detection of breast cancer at a clinically occult and nonpalpable level leads to better prognosis even in patients with aneuploid tumors whose tumors otherwise are considered to be highly malignant.