Thermographic visualization of multicentric breast carcinoma

Early diagnosis of breast cancer has increasingly resulted in more conservative surgical approach to the disease. Conservative surgical approach demand preoperatively exclusion of multicentric — multifocal carcinomas. Multifocal-multicentric tumors of the breast are defined by the presence of two or more physically separate neoplasm in the same breast. In fact, multifocal and/or diffuse breast cancer comprises the majority of breast cancers in every size range. However in pathology-controlled studies, multifocal (one quadrant involved) or multicentric (two or more quadrants involved) cancer occurs with a frequency ranging between 54% and 82%. The sensitivity and specificity of usual diagnostic procedures (mammography, ultrasound and MRI) in preoperative manner range from 50–80%. Multifocality/multicentriciy are negative prognostic factors, independent of tumor size, although their effects become more significant with increasing tumor size. The aim of this study was to investigate the ability of thermography to detect multicentric and/or multifocal breast carcinomas in preoperative setting. We compared our results with pathological specimen findings after mastectomy. It was found out that the thermography is a highly sensitive method for detection of multifocal/multicentric breast carcinoma.