POSSIBILITIES OF ULTRASOUND EXAMINATION IN DIAGNOSTICS OF NON-PALPABLE BREAST CANCER IN WOMEN OF REPRODUCTIVE AGE (clinical case)

Introduction. Breast cancer (BC) is one of the leading causes of death in women. The greatest chances of a cure for this disease appear with its early diagnosis, before the onset of clinical manifestations. The identification of non-palpable breast cancer is currently the main task for which screening using X-ray mammography is carried out. Early detection and evolution of approaches to the treatment of breast cancer allows performing low-traumatic organ-preserving operations with an improvement in both cosmetic effect and quality of life. However, there are problems with early detection of breast cancer in women of reproductive age, which are not included in the screening criteria, and, as a result, breast cancer is detected in most cases by self-palpation, which more often corresponds to stage IIIa-IIIb. The earlier stages are revealed, as a rule, by chance. The most suitable diagnostic method in the reproductive age is ultrasound examination (ultrasound) of the mammary glands. This method is safe, due to the absence of radiation exposure, it allows you to clearly differentiate tumor structures from normal breast tissues, and at the same time evaluate regional lymph nodes. The purpose of the study. To evaluate the current state of breast cancer diagnosis in women of reproductive age using the example of a clinical case of breast cancer. Materials and methods. The paper presents a clinical case of breast cancer in a woman of reproductive age. The results and their discussion. In the diagnosis of non-palpable breast cancer, physical examination is not informative. The role of X-ray mammography in the diagnosis of early breast cancer in women of reproductive age is also low due to the lack of screening programs for this category of patients. The use of ultrasound makes it possible to clearly and reliably differentiate breast formations, assess the invasion of surrounding tissues and the spread of the tumor process to the lymph nodes. Also, being a guidance method for performing fine needle and trepan biopsies, it allows for one study not only to assume a tumor process and assess its local spread, but also to obtain material for further pathohistological assessment. Conclusions. The above clinical case demonstrates the importance of using ultrasound of the mammary glands due to the high informative value of detecting the primary tumor, the prevalence of the tumor process and the possibility of performing a puncture biopsy under ultrasound control in women of reproductive age.