Surgical treatment of breast tumors in patients after mammography screening. Personal experience in the first 3 years of operation of the screening program in the province of Verona

: A mammographic screening program was started in 1999 in the Province of Verona and was offered to women aged 50-69. The purpose of this study was to analyse and compare our data, particularly the type of surgery and histotype, with the literature data where no screening program was implemented. During the first three years of the screening, 113 patients underwent surgical treatment in our Institute. The histology of the mammary lesions was benign neoplasia in 28 (24.7%) and breast cancer in 85 (75.3%) patients. Seventy-three women (85.9%) with malignant neoplasms were submitted to conservative treatment. Mastectomy was performed in 12 (14.1%) patients, 8 of whom with immediate breast reconstruction. Patients coming from screening programs benefit in a high percentage of cases from conservative treatment, which, together with the reduced aggressiveness of the cancers, permits alternative treatments for the axillary lymph nodes and a reduction in adjuvant chemotherapy.