Measurement of tumour size in case selection for breast cancer therapy by clinical assessment and ultrasound

Accuracy of tumor size measurement on shear wave elastography (SWE): Correlation with histopathologic factors of invasive breast cancer

The aim of this study is to investigate the accuracy of tumor size assessment by shear wave elastography (SWE) in invasive breast cancer and also evaluated histopathologic factors influencing the accuracy.A total of 102 lesions of 102 women with breast cancers of which the size was 3 cm or smaller were included and retrospectively analyzed. Tumor size on B-mode ultrasound (US) and SWE were recorded and compared with the pathologic tumor size. If tumor size measurements compared to pathological size were within ±3 mm, they were considered as accurate. The relationship between the accuracy and histopathologic characteristics were evaluated.The mean pathologic tumor size was 16.60 ± 6.12 mm. Tumor sizes on SWE were significantly different from pathologic sizes (18.00 ± 6.71 mm, P < 0.001). The accuracy of SWE (69.6%) was lower than that by B-mode US (74.5%). There was more size overestimation than underestimation (23.5% vs 6.9%) using SWE. Conversely, there was more size underestimation than overestimation (18.6% vs 6.9%) using B-mode US. The accuracy of SWE was associated with ER positivity (P = .004), PR positivity (P = .02), molecular subtype (P = .02), and histologic grade (P = .03). In the multivariate analysis, ER positivity (P = .002) and molecular subtype (P = .027) significantly influenced the accuracy of tumor size measurement by SWE.In conclusion, the accuracy of the tumor size measured with SWE was lower than that measured with B-mode US and SWE tends to overestimate the size. ER positivity and molecular subtype are significantly associated with the accuracy of SWE in tumor size assessment.

Unifocal Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Tumor Size Concordance Between Preoperative Ultrasound Imaging and Postoperative Pathology

BACKGROUND

We systematically analyzed the extent of disease in unifocal invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) using ultrasonography, with the histopathologic findings as the reference standard.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

In the present single-institution retrospective study, 128 cases of ILC were identified during a 5-year period. After exclusions, the analyzed cohort included 66 cases. Ultrasound measurements of the tumor extent along 3 axes were obtained. The tumor size was determined as the largest extent among the 3 axes and the tumor volume by ellipsoidal approximation. Pathology review provided the tumor size and volume. Correlation and regression analyses of tumor size and volume from the ultrasound and pathologic examinations were performed. The tumor stage from the ultrasound and pathologic examinations were used for the concordance analyses.

RESULTS

The median and quartiles (Q1, Q3) of tumor size from ultrasonography and pathology were 12.5 mm (Q1, 9 mm; Q3, 19 mm) and 17 mm (Q1, 12 mm; Q3, 25 mm), respectively. The corresponding data for tumor volume were 0.52 cm³ (Q1, 0.18 cm³; Q3, 1.92 cm³) and 1.04 cm³ (Q1, 0.45 cm³; Q3, 2.49 cm³). The ultrasound measurements correlated with the pathology-reported tumor size (Spearman ρ = 0.678; P < .0001) and volume (Spearman ρ = 0.699; P < .0001). The ultrasound-measured size and volume differed from the pathology-reported size and volume (P < .0001; Wilcoxon signed ranks test). Concordance between the clinical tumor size stage from ultrasound (cT) and pathology tumor size stage (pT) varied with the pT stage (P = .0003, Fisher's exact test), with the greatest concordance rate of 95.7% (95% confidence limit, 85.2%-99.5%) observed for pT1 tumors.

CONCLUSION

Ultrasonography underestimates the tumor size and volume, with the underestimation increasing for larger tumors. Hence, the concordance rate in tumor size stage between ultrasonography and pathology is tumor size dependent, with the greatest concordance rate observed for pT1 tumors.

A comparison of tumour size measurements with palpation, ultrasound and mammography in male breast cancer: first results of the prospective register study

PURPOSE

Precise presurgical diagnosis of tumour size is essential for adequate treatment of male breast cancer (MBC). This study is aimed to compare the accuracy of clinical measurement (CE), ultrasound (US) and mammography (MG) for preoperative estimation of tumour size.

METHODS

This study was conducted as a prospective, multicentre register study. One hundred and twenty-nine male patients with invasive breast cancer were included. CE, US and MG were performed in 107, 110 and 75 patients, respectively, and the estimated tumour size was compared with the histopathological (HP) tumour size.

RESULTS

All methods tended to underestimate the HP tumour size. None of the methods were significantly more accurate than the others in determining the maximal tumour diameter. The sensitivity within 5 mm tolerance for US was 65.5%, which was better than for MG (61.3%) and CE (56.6%). In the group of patients with pT2 tumours, MG showed significantly better accuracy than US. The measurements obtained with each method were significantly correlated with the HP measurements. The highest correlation coefficient was observed for MG (0.788), followed by US (0.741) and CE (0.671).

CONCLUSIONS

Our data demonstrate that MG and US have similar accuracy with regard to tumour size estimation. US assessment showed the highest sensitivity in determining tumour size, followed by MG and CE. However, MG demonstrated a significant advantage for estimating the real tumour size for pT2 tumours compared to US or CE.

Serum N-glycome alterations in breast cancer during multimodal treatment and follow-up

Using our recently developed high-throughput automated platform, N-glycans from all serum glycoproteins from patients with breast cancer were analysed at diagnosis, after neoadjuvant chemotherapy, surgery, radiotherapy and up to 3 years after surgery. Surprisingly, alterations in the serum N-glycome after chemotherapy were pro-inflammatory with an increase in glycan structures associated with cancer. Surgery, on the other hand, induced anti-inflammatory changes in the serum N-glycome, towards a noncancerous phenotype. At the time of first follow-up, glycosylation in patients with affected lymph nodes changed towards a malignant phenotype. C-reactive protein showed a different pattern, increasing after first line of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, then decreasing throughout treatment until 1 year after surgery. This may reflect a switch from acute to chronic inflammation, where chronic inflammation is reflected in the serum after the acute phase response subsides. In conclusion, we here present the first time-course serum N-glycome profiling of patients with breast cancer during and after treatment. We identify significant glycosylation changes with chemotherapy, surgery and follow-up, reflecting the host response to therapy and tumour removal.

The impact of breast cancer biological subtyping on tumor size assessment by ultrasound and mammography - a retrospective multicenter cohort study of 6543 primary breast cancer patients

BACKGROUND

Mammography and ultrasound are the gold standard imaging techniques for preoperative assessment and for monitoring the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer. Maximum accuracy in predicting pathological tumor size non-invasively is critical for individualized therapy and surgical planning. We therefore aimed to assess the accuracy of tumor size measurement by ultrasound and mammography in a multicentered health services research study.

METHODS

We retrospectively analyzed data from 6543 patients with unifocal, unilateral primary breast cancer. The maximum tumor diameter was measured by ultrasound and/or mammographic imaging. All measurements were compared to final tumor diameter determined by postoperative histopathological examination. We compared the precision of each imaging method across different patient subgroups as well as the method-specific accuracy in each patient subgroup.

RESULTS

Overall, the correlation with histology was 0.61 for mammography and 0.60 for ultrasound. Both correlations were higher in pT2 cancers than in pT1 and pT3. Ultrasound as well as mammography revealed a significantly higher correlation with histology in invasive ductal compared to lobular cancers (p < 0.01). For invasive lobular cancers, the mammography showed better correlation with histology than ultrasound (p = 0.01), whereas there was no such advantage for invasive ductal cancers. Ultrasound was significantly superior for HR negative cancers (p < 0.001). HER2/neu positive cancers were also more precisely assessed by ultrasound (p < 0.001). The size of HER2/neu negative cancers could be more accurately predicted by mammography (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

This multicentered health services research approach demonstrates that predicting tumor size by mammography and ultrasound provides accurate results. Biological tumor features do, however, affect the diagnostic precision.

Freehand elastography for determination of breast cancer size: comparison with B-mode sonography and histopathologic measurement

OBJECTIVES

Elastography assesses the strain of soft tissues and is used to enhance diagnostic accuracy in evaluating breast tumors, but minimal data exist on its ability to accurately assess tumor size. This study was performed to assess the preoperative accuracy of measuring the size of biopsyproven breast cancer lesions with elastography and conventional B-mode sonography compared with the reference standard size measured by histopathologic examination.

METHODS

Elastography and conventional B-mode sonography were performed on 69 women with histologically proven breast cancer, and tumor sizes on both modalities were recorded. These measurements were compared with the final pathologic size, which was used as the reference standard. The sizes and differences between sonographic, elastographic, and pathologic measurements were statistically tested, and an analysis of equivalence to the reference standard was performed using Bland-Altman plots.

RESULTS

There was a significant difference between sizes on elastography and pathologic examination, with elastography overestimating the tumor size (P = .0187). Sonography slightly underestimated the tumor size, but this finding was not significant (P = .36). Bland-Altman plots confirmed that sonography but not elastography was an acceptable standard compared with the pathologic size.

CONCLUSIONS

Breast elastography but not B-mode sonography overestimates the size of breast tumors compared with the final pathologic size.

Caliper measurement to improve clinical assessment of palpable neck lumps

INTRODUCTION

One-stop neck lump clinics with ultrasonography and cytopathology support are an expensive and finite resource. Consequently, many neck lump patients are assessed in general ear, nose and throat or head and neck clinics. Optimal clinical assessment of neck lump size is important to guide investigation, monitor change and provisionally stage nodal disease. The aims of this study were to investigate whether caliper measurement is more accurate than clinical palpation in assessing neck lump size and whether caliper measurement of neck lump size correlates closely with accurate ultrasonography measurement.

METHODS

A prospective study was carried out involving 50 patients with clinically palpable neck lumps presenting to the one-stop neck lump clinic. Long and short axis neck lump dimensions were estimated first by clinical palpation and second by caliper measurement. Estimations were compared with accurate ultrasonography measurement.

RESULTS

The mean combined long and short axis measurement deviation from accurate ultrasonography measurement was smaller for caliper measurement (7.80 mm) than for clinical palpation (12.38 mm) (p <0.01). There was no significant difference observed between combined axis ultrasonography and combined axis caliper measurement of neck lumps (p = 0.462).

CONCLUSIONS

Caliper measurement is more accurate than clinical palpation in estimating the size of clinically palpable neck lumps. The use of calipers to measure the skin surface dimensions of palpable neck lumps is statistically comparable to accurate ultrasonography measurement.

Assessment of breast cancer tumour size using six different methods

OBJECTIVES

Tumour size estimates using mammography (MG), conventional ultrasound (US), compound imaging (CI) and real-time elastography (RTE) were compared with histopathological specimen sizes.

METHODS

The largest diameters of 97 malignant breast lesions were measured. Two US and CI measurements were made: US1/CI1 (hypoechoic nucleus only) and US2/CI2 (hypoechoic nucleus plus hyperechoic halo). Measurements were compared with histopathological tumour sizes using linear regression and Bland-Altman plots.

RESULTS

Size prediction was best with ultrasound (US/CI/RTE: R (2) 0.31-0.36); mammography was poorer (R(2) = 0.19). The most accurate method was US2, while US1 and CI1 were poorest. Bland-Altman plots showed better size estimation with US2, CI2 and RTE, with low variation, while mammography showed greatest variability. Smaller tumours were better assessed than larger ones. CI2 and US2 performed best for ductal tumours and RTE for lobular cancers. Tumour size prediction accuracy did not correlate significantly with breast density, but on MG tumours were more difficult to detect in high-density tissue.

CONCLUSIONS

The size of ductal tumours is best predicted with US2 and CI2, while for lobular cancers RTE is best. Hyperechoic tumour surroundings should be included in US and CI measurements and RTE used as an additional technique in the clinical staging process.

Intra-operative measurement of tumour size in breast cancer and its comparison with other methods: a prospective study

Accurate measurement of breast tumour size determines staging and prognosis. Discrepancies amongst clinical examination (CE), ultrasonography (USG), mammography, pathological examination (PE) and magnetic resonance imaging have been reported. However, few studies have evaluated changes in breast tumour size from the operating table to the laboratory.

Tissue microarray analysis of connexin expression and its prognostic significance in human breast cancer

Breast cancer accounts for approximately 15% of all cancer deaths. Currently, axillary nodal status is the most reliable prognostic indicator for breast cancer. Tumor size and histological grade are used to stage breast cancer. Estrogen receptor/progesterone receptor (ER/PR) and HER-2/neu status are useful in predicting patient survival and relapse. Ki67, an indicator of proliferative activity, also correlates well with prognosis. Connexin proteins form gap junction channels, permitting intercellular exchange of ions and small molecules. Reduced connexin protein levels and impaired gap junctional intercellular communication are associated with tumor phenotypes. This study investigated the prognostic value of connexin proteins as breast cancer markers. Tissue microarrays, containing 438 cases of invasive breast carcinoma, were stained with Cx26, Cx32, and Cx43 antibodies. The degree of connexin immunoreactivity was determined and then correlated with patient outcome, tumor grade, tumor size, lymph node status, and immunohistochemical markers, such as p53, ER/PR status, Ki67 and c-erbB-2 expression. Cx26, Cx32, or Cx43 did not correlate well with tumor grade, tumor size, p53 or c-erbB-2 status. There was an inverse correlation between Cx32 and lymph node status (P <0.05) and a positive correlation between Cx43 and PR status (P <0.01). Cx32 and Cx43 correlated positively with ER status (P <0.01). Cx43 correlated negatively with Ki67 expression (P <0.01). Cx26, Cx32, and Cx43 did not correlate with patient outcome. Based on our observations in this study, connexin proteins do not appear to be reliable indicators of breast cancer prognosis.

Assessment of breast cancer tumor size depends on method, histopathology and tumor size itself*

PURPOSE

Mammography (MG), breast (BU) and axillary ultrasound (AU), and clinical examination (CE) are commonly used for clinical staging. These different methods were compared in order to assess the accuracy of clinical tumor staging (cT).

METHOD

About 503 breast cancer (BC) patients were prospectively measured by MG, ultrasound and clinical examination. Pearson's correlation to pathological tumor size (pT) was tested and the deviation of MG, BU and CE to pT was analyzed in subgroups defined by pT, grading (G), estrogen receptor (ER), progesteron receptor (PR), proliferation (MIB-1) and HER2/neu. Association of AU to pN was examined by chi(2)-test. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) were used to test the prediction of a pT > 2 cm.

RESULTS

Mammography correlated best with pT (r = 0.752). Mammography (mean (MG) = 2.17 cm) overestimated tumors in size (mean (pT) = 2.04 cm) rather than ultrasound (mean (BU) = 1.86 cm) and clinical examination (mean (cT) = 1.70 cm). pT of invasive ductal BC could be estimated significantly better than pT of invasive lobular BC. Smaller tumors were better to assess than larger ones. Tumors with a grading G1 were easier to estimate than tumors with G2/3. Best predictor of a pT > 2 cm was the mammography with an area under the curve of 0.876. The combination of all three modalities by linear regression performed even better with an AUC of 0.906.

CONCLUSIONS

The dimension of invasive ductal carcinomas, small and low grading tumors is significantly better to estimate. Concerning treatment decisions, we propose a combination of all three modalities, as the best predictive value was seen for the complementary use of mammography, ultrasound and clinical examination.

Preoperative Profiling of Symptomatic Breast Cancer by Diagnostic Core Biopsy

BACKGROUND

Precise preoperative profiling of breast tumors could facilitate fuller consideration of (neo)adjuvant therapies.

METHODS

Diagnostic core biopsy (DCB) accuracy in profiling the primary tumor was prospectively studied in 95 patients with operable breast cancer. The histological type and grade (hematoxylin and eosin staining) and membrane receptor status (semiquantitative immunohistochemistry for estrogen [ER] and progesterone [PR] receptors, as well as Her-2 antigen expression) were assigned by the DCB before surgery. These measures were then compared with those of the definitive surgical specimen available after operation.

RESULTS

DCB correctly ascribed tumor type and grade and ER, PR, and Her-2 receptor status in most cases (correlating exactly in 97.5%, 77%, 68%, 71%, and 60%, respectively) with at least moderate concordance (weighted kappa, >.41). When miscategorized, DCB consistently tended to upscore the receptor stain intensity compared with the surgical specimen (22%, 19%, and 27% had higher ER, PR, and Her-2 categorical scores, respectively). ER H-scores correlated best in specimens that stained strongly (224.4 +/- 3 vs. 215.5 +/- 5) and were significantly higher on DCB in those that stained either moderately (195.6 +/- 8.2 vs. 156.8 +/- 5.1; P < .0001) or weakly (157.1 +/- 24.8 vs. 81.4 +/- 4; P = .02). DCB accurately identified all tumors with clinically important ER and Her-2 expression. Furthermore, it promoted three patients into the therapeutically significant range of ER (n = 1) or Her-2 (n = 2) expression. ER negativity on DCB (n = 25) indicated a high-grade tumor (88%), although 11 (44%) patients also overexpressed Her-2. Significant Her-2 expression (n = 16) on DCB predicted the tumor as being poorly differentiated (80%) and both ER and PR negative (67%).

CONCLUSIONS

DCB accurately profiles clinically relevant measures of primary tumor cell differentiation. It also reliably categorizes patients with regard to (neo)adjuvant therapy before radical surgery is attempted.