Abstract
Background
Percutaneous core needle biopsy (CNB) is considered to be the standard technique for histological diagnosis of breast lesions. But, it is less reliable for diagnosing atypical ductal hyperplasia (ADH). The purpose of the present study was to predict, based on clinical and radiological findings, which cases of ADH diagnosed by CNB would be more likely to be associated with a more advanced lesion on subsequent surgical excision.
Methods
Between February 2002 and December 2007, consecutive ultrasound-guided CNBs were performed on suspicious breast lesions at Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital. A total of 69 CNBs led to a diagnosis of ADH, and 45 patients underwent follow-up surgical excision. We reviewed the medical records and analyses retrospectively.
Results
Sixty-nine patients were diagnosed with ADH at CNB. Of these patients, 45 underwent surgical excision and 10 (22.2%) were subsequently diagnosed with a malignancy (ductal carcinoma in situ, n = 8; invasive cancer, n = 2). Univariate analysis revealed age (? 50-years) at the time of core needle biopsy (p = 0.006), size (> 10 mm) on imaging (p = 0.033), and combined mass with microcalcification on sonography (p = 0.029) to be associated with underestimation. When those three factors were included in multivariate analysis, only age (p = 0.035, HR 6.201, 95% CI 1.135-33.891) was an independent predictor of malignancy.
Conclusion
Age (> 50) at the time of biopsy is an independent predictive factor for breast cancer at surgical excision in patients with diagnosed ADH at CNB. For patients diagnosed with ADH at CNB, only complete surgical excision is the suitable treatment option, because we could not find any combination of factors that can safely predict the absence of DCIS or invasive cancer in a case of ADH.
Background
Percutaneous core needle biopsy (CNB) is the standard technique for histological diagnosis of breast lesions. It has become the procedure of choice to investigate suspicious lesions of the breast and has been shown to be an effective means to rule out cancer, alleviating the cost and discomfort of surgery. Overall, CNB histological findings are in agreement with surgical biopsy in more than 95% of the cases1-3. But, CNB is less reliable for diagnosing atypical ductal hyperplasia (ADH).
ADH is a proliferative lesion of the breast epithelium, which fulfils some but not all the criteria of low grade ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS)4. ADH carries a 4-5 times increased risk of subsequent development of invasive carcinoma in either breast,5,6 and there is genetic evidence in cell populations associated with cancer suggesting it may even be a direct precursor of malignancy7. Significant discordance has been reported isn CNB diagnosis of ADH, with 7%-87% of cases proving to be DCIS or invasive carcinoma on subsequent surgical excision8-14. This problem arises from the difficulty in differentiating between ADH and low grade DCIS on the small volume of tissue obtained from core biopsy15. In addition, foci of ADH may be present at the periphery of areas of DCIS16 and, thus, even an unequivocal diagnosis of ADH does not preclude the presence of an adjacent and more advanced lesion. Because of this underestimation (which means presence of DCIS or invasive cancer) risk, some authors have recommended a mandatory surgical biopsy, while others have discussed options between surgery and follow-up17. Identification of patients with ADH diagnosed by CNB who can be spared surgical excision is an area of active investigation. However, the clinical, radiologic, and pathologic parameters on which to base this decision have not been consistently identified.
The purpose of the present study was to predict, based on clinical and radiological findings, which cases of ADH diagnosed by CNB would be more likely to be associated with a more advanced lesion on subsequent surgical excision.
Materials and methods
Between February 2002 and December 2007, 3476 consecutive ultrasound-guided CNBs were performed on suspicious breast lesions at the Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital. A total of 69 CNBs led to a diagnosis of ADH, and 45 patients underwent follow-up surgical excision. Seven patients refused surgical excision and were only followed up and 12 patients were transferred other hospital as per their request while 5 were lost to follow-up. The definition employed for “histological underestimation” was a lesion diagnosed as ADH at CNB that was revealed to harbor malignant foci at follow-up surgical excision, including DCIS and invasive cancer. All patients in this study underwent clinical and radiological examination, including mammography and ultrasound. The radiological appearance of the lesion was characterised according to the American College of Radiology Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System lexicon and the final assessment categories. All lesions were evaluated for size on imaging and presence of microcalcification. Lesion size was defined as the greatest dimension on ultrasound imaging for most patients, or mammography size for patients with microcalcification dominant lesions. Ultrasound-guided biopsies were used for sonographically visible lesions, and were performed with patients in a supine or decubitus position using high-resolution sonography. The biopsy was performed using a device with a 14-gauge automated needle or with an 11-gauge vacuum assisted biopsy device. The core biopsy tissue sections were fixed in 10% formaldehyde and embedded in paraffin