Mammographic distance as a predictor of nipple-areola complex involvement in breast cancer.

Background: Although involvement of the nipple-areola complex (NAC) occurs in a minority of patients with breast cancer, standard skin-sparing mastectomy requires its removal. To assist in patient selection for NAC preservation we evaluated NAC involvement and correlated this with preoperatively available clinical data.

Methods: Patients with invasive breast cancer or ductal carcinoma in situ undergoing mastectomy from 1998 to 2005 were reviewed retrospectively.