ArticleBMC surgery2026
Microdochectomy for patients with nipple discharge and the risk of associated breast cancer.
Article in BMC surgery, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundNipple discharge is one of the most common breast complaints, reported by 80% of women outside the breastfeeding period. It may result from physiological or pathological causes, including intraductal papillomas, ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), or invasive breast cancer (BC). This study aimed to evaluate the incidence of malignant upgrades following microdochectomy for nipple discharge and investigate the predictive value of nipple discharge characteristics, in a German population.
methodsA total of 115 patients with unilateral nipple discharge that underwent microdochectomy from 2019 to 2023 were followed up retrospectively. A standardized diagnostic algorithm was applied, including imaging (mammography, ultrasound), cytological examination of nipple discharge, and histopathological assessment of surgical specimens. We investigated the malignant upgrade after microdochectomy, and the association of different colors of nipple discharge with DCIS and invasive BC.
resultsHistopathology revealed DCIS in 7 cases (6.1%), with concomitant invasive BC in 3 cases (2.6%). Bloody nipple discharge was the most frequent symptom (85.7%) of malignant upgrade cases. However, the rate of malignancy did not significantly differ across discharge types (p = 0.442, Fisher’s exact test). All detected invasive BCs were hormone receptor positive, Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2/neu) negative, with early-stage tumors (UICC stage IA). Preoperative cytology demonstrated limited sensitivity, with only one of four analyzed malignant cases showing suspicious findings.
conclusionsMicrodochectomy remains a valuable diagnostic and therapeutic tool for patients with unilateral nipple discharge with unsuspicious preoperative breast imaging. The rate of newly detected BC in our study population was low. However, the preoperative identification of patients with increased risk of malignancy stays challenging. Emphasis for future research should be placed on identifying patients with the highest risk for BC e.g. bloody and clear pathologic nipple discharge.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.