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Review
. 2020 Dec:54:211-215.
doi: 10.1016/j.breast.2020.10.012. Epub 2020 Oct 27.

Occult breast cancer: Where are we at?

Adam Ofri  1 , Katrina Moore  2
Affiliations
Review

Occult breast cancer: Where are we at?

Adam Ofri et al. Breast. 2020 Dec.

Abstract

Occult breast cancer (OBC) is described as an axillary metastatic carcinoma without detection of a primary breast lesion and is uncommon. Significant advances in breast imaging have occurred since its description, decreasing its incidence. However current management is based upon old studies, with variable clinical, radiological and pathological definitions of OBC. We suggest standardised definitions of OBC to facilitate more homogenous data representation in the literature. This review also discusses the conflicting heterogeneous data and its influence in determining the current management guidelines. We discuss whether the current significant surgical recommendations are necessary and postulate whether they could be safely substituted with less invasive management.

Keywords: Occult breast cancer; pathological occult breast cancer, pOBC.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest There is no conflict of interest for any of the authors associated.

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