• Lisa A Newman and Cassann Blake.
• Department of Surgery, University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ann Arbor 48109-0932, USA. lanewman@umich.edu
• Cancer Control. 2002 Nov 1; 9 (6): 473-9.

BackgroundEffective chemoprevention is available for breast cancer, but it is associated with the potential for life-threatening adverse events. Accurate identification of women facing increased risk of breast cancer is therefore essential. Atypical hyperplasia is a histopathologic pattern that has been consistently associated with an elevated future risk of breast cancer.MethodsThe literature was reviewed to assess the strength of the association between atypical hyperplasia and breast cancer. The rationale for developing a nonsurgical modality to document the presence of atypia is discussed.ResultsDuctal lavage identifies atypical hyperplasia by retrieving epithelial cells shed into the ductal system with a specially designed catheter. Women with clinical evidence of increased breast cancer risk may consider ductal lavage as a means of determining whether abnormal proliferative activity is occurring in their breasts at a given point in time from ducts yielding fluid.ConclusionsDuctal lavage is a minimally invasive procedure that facilitates the detection of atypia via retrieval of breast ductal fluid that can be evaluated cytologically. It can facilitate the selection of women who may benefit from breast cancer risk reduction intervention.

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