HISTOPATHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS AND SURGICAL TREATMENT OF BREAST CANCER--OUR EXPERIENCE.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to show the descriptive and histopathological analysis and applied surgical technique with early and late post-operative complications in patients with breast cancer who were hospitalized and treated at the General Hospital in Novi Pazar during the period 2009-2011.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: During the period from 2009 to 2011, 59 patients were operated for breast cancer at the General Hospital in Novi Pazar. The study included the size and type of the tumor, disease stage, surgical techniques and complications, the age of the patients at the moment of surgery and its correlation with the number of metastatic lymph nodes in the axilla and the tumor size, as well as the correlation of the tumor size with the number ofmetastases in the axillary lymph nodes.

RESULTS: The dif- ference in the tumor size in relation to the age among the women under 50 and over 50 years of age was not statistically significant (T = -1.203, p > 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between the number of positive lymph nodes in the women under and over 50 years of age (Mann-Whitney U test, p > 0.05). A significant positive correlation between the tumor size and the number of positive axillary lymph nodes was found (p = 0.308, p < 0.05). A significant positive correlation of the patient's age and breast cancer stage was also confirmed with nonparametric variance analysis by Spearman's Rho (p = 0.337, p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION: The majority of women from this study sample were with Stage II of breast cancer, which points out the necessity for better prevention and education of women in order to improve early diagnosis of breast cancer. The number of positive axillary lymph nodes appears to be an important prognostic factor and a significant positive correlation between the tumor size and the number of positive axillary lymph nodes has been found.