[Evaluation of the role of mammography and echography in breast diseases in a controlled caseload].

Data concerning patients who underwent mammography and breast ultrasonography and then breast surgery were collected and analyzed with a computer archive system. In previous papers the authors reported both design and implementation of the computer archive and analyzed the results concerning uncontrolled collected data; in the present paper data concerning controlled cases are evaluated, distinguishing between symptomatic and asymptomatic cases. Asymptomatic patients represented 92% of the whole evaluated population. However only one third of the patients who underwent surgery for breast cancer was included in this group. Breast cancer was discovered in 65% of the patients who underwent diagnostic procedures and then surgery because of a palpable nodule. This percentage was lower (52%) in asymptomatic patients. Mammographic accuracy was about 90% in symptomatic patients and 81% in asymptomatic patients. Breast ultrasonography was performed as a subsequent step and always detected the lesion when palpable. Its sensitivity was 86% in asymptomatic patients. In patients who underwent surgery the false positive rate for cancer was higher with ultrasonography (59%) than with mammography (45%). Focal dysplasis were responsible for the majority of false positive diagnoses with both procedures. However, the false positive rate is low referring to the whole investigated population and is reshuffled by guided bioptic procedures. Ultrasonography was a useful tool when mammography had limitations: in fact ultrasonography detected a focal lesion in all patients with a surgically proven cancer and a previous negative mammography. The sets of data available from the continuous updating of the computer archive immediately clarified the differences between symptomatic and asymptomatic patients and stressed the diagnostic capabilities of the different procedures.