[Benign proliferative breast disease with and without atypia]

[Underestimation of pure radial scars: A retrospective evaluation in a cancer center]

OBJECTIVES

Radial scars (RS) are benign lesions, but their imaging appearance can mimic that of carcinoma. Traditionally, most RS were surgically excised due to the risk of underestimation. However, guidelines now exist allowing for their surveillance. The objective of this study was to evaluate the risk of underestimation and, secondarily, to identify associated risk factors, as well as to describe the proportion of women who developed breast cancer during follow-up.

METHODS

This was a single-center, retrospective, observational study conducted using data from patients who underwent biopsies identifying RS in a cancer center between January 2000 and December 2015.

RESULTS

A total of 116 biopsies revealing radial scars without atypia were analyzed. Seventy patients underwent excision (66 [56.9%] via segmentectomy and 4 [3.4%] via vacuum-assisted biopsy), among which 55 were classified as "pure" radial scars (78.6%), 13 as radial scars with atypia (18.6%), and 2 as ductal carcinoma in situ (2.9%). The overall underestimation rate was 21.4%. The underestimation rate for carcinoma (in situ or invasive) was 2.9%. No predictive factors for underestimation were identified in our study. Follow-up data were available for 72 patients, among whom 12 (16.7%) developed breast cancer.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study shows an underestimation rate of 21.4% for radial scars, with no predictive risk factors identified, emphasizing the importance of multidisciplinary team discussions.

Inter-observer agreement in the diagnosis of breast atypical ductal hyperplasia: A systematic review

OBJECTIVE

To review the concordance between pathologists in the diagnosis of atypical ductal hyperplasia of the breast.

METHODS

Systematic review of articles registered in the PubMed database with the terms "pathologists" and "atypical ductal hyperplasia", "atypical ductal hyperplasia" and "interobserver variability", in Embase with "interobserver agreement in atypical ductal hyperplasia" and Lilacs with the terms in Spanish "patólogos" and "hiperplasia ductal atípica", without the use of filters, between 03/16/2022 and 03/26/2022 searching for articles that assess inter-observer agreement in the diagnosis of atypical ductal hyperplasia by using the kappa statistic. Review articles, conference proceedings, and commentaries were excluded.

RESULTS

With the search terms, 507 publications were found. Of these, 491 were excluded from the screening by title and abstract. Of the full reading of the remaining articles, 6 were selected for qualitative analysis. The kappa values ranged from slight agreement, kappa = 0.17, to substantial agreement, 0.69 obtained from pathologists dedicated or experienced in breast pathology and who received a prior tutorial session to review the general criteria for atypia.

CONCLUSIONS

This study reviews the reproducibility in the diagnosis of atypical ductal hyperplasia. A better concordance was obtained with a previous teaching process offered to pathologists dedicated or experienced in breast pathology.

Management of radial scars/complex sclerosing lesions of the breast diagnosed on vacuum-assisted large-core biopsy: is surgery always necessary?

AIMS

The diagnosis of radial scars/complex sclerosing lesions (RSs/CSLs) onpercutaneous biopsy carries a risk of histological underestimation. Consequently, surgical excision is often performed in order to exclude a possible associated malignancy. The aim of this study was to assess the rate of 'upgrade to carcinoma' upon subsequent surgical excision of RS/CSL cases diagnosed on vacuum-assisted large-core biopsy (VALCB). We also analysed the risk factors for upgrade in order to determine a subset of patients who could avoid surgery and benefit from conservative management with clinical and imaging follow-up.

METHODS AND RESULTS

This was a retrospective observational single-centre study on 174 consecutive RS/CSL cases diagnosed on VALCB from May 2008 to October 2015. Univariate analysis was performed to identify clinical, radiological and histological risk factors for upgrade. Surgical excision was performed following VALCB diagnosis of 88 RS/CSL cases with or without associated atypia. The overall rate of surgical upgrade to carcinoma was 9.1% (8/88). None of the benign biopsies without atypia was surgically upgraded. Additional to atypia, risk factors for upgrade were non-incidental finding of the RS/CSL, the mammographic appearance, and the number of fragments obtained during the biopsy procedure (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

We demonstrate that VALCB revealing an RS/CSL is reliable for excluding malignancy when there is no associated atypia and when radiological and histological findings are concordant. In such cases, surgery can be avoided in favour of clinical and imaging follow-up. When an RS/CSL is associated with atypia, the decision to perform surgical excision depends on other associated risk factors.