title: The developmental pathology of breast cancer.
abstract: The early stages in the development of breast cancer, from epithelial inception to initial invasion, comprise a predictable, fairly uniform series of events. Once invasion has occurred, behavior is much more random. For this reason, local treatment methods are most effective in these early stages and efforts directed at early detection are thoroughly justified.
mesh_terms: D001940:Breast / Q000473:pathology; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology*; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006965:Hyperplasia; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D011230:Precancerous Conditions / Q000473:pathology; D013997:Time Factors