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R W McDivitt

Publications and source records attributed to R W McDivitt.

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Histologic types of benign breast disease and the risk for breast cancer. The Cancer and Steroid Hormone Study Group.

Specific histologic types of benign breast disease (BBD) may increase breast cancer risk. The authors analyzed data from a population-based, case-control study of women aged 20 to 54 with newly diagnosed breast cancer and control subjects randomly selected from the general population. A panel of pathologists classified the histologic findings of biopsy slides for 433 women with breast cancer and 261 control subjects, all of whom had a history of biopsy for BBD, as to the presence of epithelial hyperplasia, atypia, and other histologic features. When compared with women who had never had a breast biopsy, women with BBD without hyperplasia had an odds ratio of 1.5 (95% confidence limits [CL] 1.3 to 1.9), women with hyperplasia without atypia had an odds ratio of 1.8 (CL = 1.3, 2.4), and women with hyperplasia and atypia had an odds ratio of 2.6 (CL = 1.6, 4.1). Fibroadenoma was an independent risk factor for breast cancer (odds ratio = 1.7; CL = 1.1, 2.5). These findings suggest that women with BBD with epithelial hyperplasia either with or without atypia and women with fibroadenoma should be monitored carefully because of their elevated risk for breast cancer.

Adenofibroma

Pleomorphic adenoma of the breast: a clinicopathologic and immunohistochemical study of 10 cases.

Pleomorphic adenomas of the breast (PAB) are uncommon tumors. We studied the clinicopathologic features of 10 cases of PAB, seven of which were assessed immunohistochemically. Nine patients were women, with a median age at diagnosis of 65 years. Eight patients presented with a palpable mass; two had a nipple discharge. Nine of the tumors were periareolar. The latter epidemiologic findings, coupled with histologic observations, appeared to indicate a preferential origin for PAB within large intramammary ducts. These neoplasms histologically resemble their analogues in salivary glands. Moreover, a gradual histologic transition between different morphologic areas in PAB, especially between mesenchymal and epithelial regions, supported the contention that the neoplasm arises from a single cell type capable of divergent differentiation and thus should not be considered a "mixed" tumor. This contention was further substantiated by immunohistochemical findings, in which three intermediate filaments (cytokeratin, vimentin, and glial fibrillary acidic protein) and muscle-specific actin were expressed conjointly in tumor cells with a variety of morphologic appearances. In addition, cells differentiating along mesenchymal lines by conventional microscopy were found to express epithelial membrane antigen or gross cystic disease fluid protein-15 in five cases. The benign nature of PAB was supported by a lack of metastases in this series during a median follow-up period of 4.9 years. However, one lesion recurred locally. Regarding therapy, we believe that PAB can be excised successfully with only a narrow circumferential margin of uninvolved breast.

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