Abstract: Nipple-areola complex-sparing mastectomy (NSM) is a surgical procedure that allows the preservation of the skin and nipple-areola complex (NAC) in mastectomy. The use of NSM for breast cancer is still controversial. The appropriate standard for selecting patients with low risk of NAC involvement has not been well established. The clinicopathologicity characteristics of primary tumor (e.g., tumor-to-nipple distance, tumor location, tumor size, multicentricity, lymph node metastasis, lymphovascular invasion, grade, HER-2 status) have been reported to be associated with NAC involvement. Clinical evaluation of NAC, retroareolar tissue biopsy and evaluation of clinicopathologic characteristics of primary tumor are helpful to patient selection in current clinical practice of NSM. Further studies are still needed to establish uniform selection criteria for NSM in breast cancer patients.

Key words: Breast cancer, Nipple-areola complex-sparing mastectomy, Nipple-areola complex, Pathology