Ductoscopy of intraductal neoplasia of the breast

Abstract

Ductoscopy is an emerging technology that may improve evaluation of intraductal neoplasia in women with nipple discharge or those undergoing surgery for breast cancer. Ductoscopy can identify most lesions in patients with nipple discharge and may be used for guidance of ductal resection. In patients with breast cancer, ductoscopy holds promise to improve the detection of additional intraductal components, especially in women with extensive disease. Intraductal biopsy is a new minimally invasive technique for tissue sampling of intraductal neoplasia. Clearly, ductoscopy with ductoscopic biopsy is not suitable for screening early breast cancer because of the invasive nature of the procedure and the inability to examine all ducts. Further prospective studies will be required to clarify the exact role of ductoscopy with ductoscopic biopsy for the evaluation of intraductal neoplasia. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2009.