Abstract

Ductal lavage: a way of carefully tracing the breast-secreting duct

Author(s): Antonio Russo, Valter Gregorio, Pasqua Sandra Sisto, Valentina Cal�², Valentina Agnese, Claudia Augello, Sandra Cascio, Giuseppe Badalamenti, Salvatore Fricano, Liborio Napoli, Antonio Giordano, Daniele Santini, Nicola Gebbia and Viviana Bazan

Background: Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed neoplasia in women after nonmelanoma skin tumors. Unfortunately, present-day diagnostic methods are unable to identify the presence of a cancer until it has been developing for several years. Currently, ductal lavage seems to represent a new method of reaching an early diagnosis of breast cancer. Materials & methods: This study analyzed 30 patients with ages ranging from 40 to 55 years; and in 26 of these patients, we were able to obtain a sufficient quantity of material for cytological and biomolecular analysis. Results & conclusion: We propose an easy, reproducible method that makes it possible to obtain a detailed map of the nipple, in order to re-identify the duct orifice and take a series of repeated samples from it over a period of time. This procedure is a promising screening and translational research tool since it provides the quantity and quality of ductal fluid required for subsequent cytological and biomolecular analyses.