The surgeon's attitude to malignant lymphomas of the breast. Analysis of eight cases.

Eight cases of malignant lymphomas of the breast were considered. The age of the patients ranged from 26 to 57 years. All the cases were staged according to the Ann Arbor classification system; the distribution was 2 Ie, 2 IIe, 1 IIIe and 3 IVe. Surgery was limited to excisional biopsy in all patients, one of whom had been operated on elsewhere. Six patients had radiotherapy following limited surgery. All of them received chemotherapy. The treatment resulted in complete local control of the disease in all cases and only 2 patients died from disseminated disease. Six patients were alive and free of disease from 34 to 84 months after the diagnosis. Our experience and analysis of the literature allow us to conclude that the role of surgery in the diagnosis and treatment of malignant lymphomas with breast involvement should be limited to removal of the nodule, when possible, or to incisional biopsy in the case of massive involvement of the breast. In effect, aggressive surgery with a radical aim is not presently justified; in contrast, systemic chemotherapy should always be administered.