Observations on non-malignant conditions of the breast.

The shadow of carcinoma lies heavy over all breast disorders. Women are probably more conscious of the possibility of cancer of the breast than of any other organ so that, whether expressed or not, the thought that symptoms or signs in the breast may mean cancer is rarely far absent from their minds. To the doctor, too, the possibility of cancer of the breast is rightly a constant concern. But this approach, essential in practice as it is, has the disadvantage that non-malignant conditions of the breast tend to be regarded less as subjects for study in their own right and more as an appendage to the problem of malignant disease. Another factor which has led to blurring of the understanding of some non-malignant conditions of the breast is, paradoxically enough, the predominant position of histology in the diagnosis of breast disease. There is general agreement that histological examination is the crucial test in the diagnosis of lumps of the breast and in certain dangerous pre-malignant conditions of the breast. But its very importance in these connections has led to confusing and contradictory histological classifications of certain common disorders of the breast which are probably disorders of function and therefore best classified on a functional rather than anatomical basis.