ABSTRACT

Breast carcinoma is the most common malignancy in women after skin cancer and, after lung cancer, the most frequent cause of cancer death in females. With advances in screening over the past 25 years, fewer than 10% of patients will present with metastatic breast carcinoma at the time of diagnosis. Occult breast carcinoma presenting axillary metastases is uncommon and accounts for less than 1% of newly diagnosed breast carcinoma. However, it continues to be a challenging diagnostic and therapeutic problem. In this review, the current approach to diagnosis and treatment of occult breast cancer is discussed.