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Schiaffino S, Pinker K, Cozzi A, Magni V, Athanasiou A, Baltzer PAT, Camps Herrero J, Clauser P, Fallenberg EM, Forrai G, Fuchsjäger MH, Gilbert FJ, Helbich T, Kilburn-Toppin F, Kuhl CK, Lesaru M, Mann RM, Panizza P, Pediconi F, Sardanelli F, Sella T, Thomassin-Naggara I, Zackrisson S, Pijnappel RM. European Society of Breast Imaging (EUSOBI) guidelines on the management of axillary lymphadenopathy after COVID-19 vaccination: 2023 revision. Insights Imaging 2023; 14:126. [PMID: 37466753 DOI: 10.1186/s13244-023-01453-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2023] [Accepted: 05/14/2023] [Indexed: 07/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Axillary lymphadenopathy is a common side effect of COVID-19 vaccination, leading to increased imaging-detected asymptomatic and symptomatic unilateral axillary lymphadenopathy. This has threatened to negatively impact the workflow of breast imaging services, leading to the release of ten recommendations by the European Society of Breast Imaging (EUSOBI) in August 2021. Considering the rapidly changing scenario and data scarcity, these initial recommendations kept a highly conservative approach. As of 2023, according to newly acquired evidence, EUSOBI proposes the following updates, in order to reduce unnecessary examinations and avoid delaying necessary examinations. First, recommendation n. 3 has been revised to state that breast examinations should not be delayed or rescheduled because of COVID-19 vaccination, as evidence from the first pandemic waves highlights how delayed or missed screening tests have a negative effect on breast cancer morbidity and mortality, and that there is a near-zero risk of subsequent malignant findings in asymptomatic patients who have unilateral lymphadenopathy and no suspicious breast findings. Second, recommendation n. 7 has been revised to simplify follow-up strategies: in patients without breast cancer history and no imaging findings suspicious for cancer, symptomatic and asymptomatic imaging-detected unilateral lymphadenopathy on the same side of recent COVID-19 vaccination (within 12 weeks) should be classified as a benign finding (BI-RADS 2) and no further work-up should be pursued. All other recommendations issued by EUSOBI in 2021 remain valid.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone Schiaffino
- Imaging Institute of Southern Switzerland (IIMSI), Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale (EOC), Lugano, Switzerland
| | - Katja Pinker
- Division of General and Paediatric Radiology, Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-Guided Therapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
- Department of Radiology, Breast Imaging Service, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Andrea Cozzi
- Imaging Institute of Southern Switzerland (IIMSI), Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale (EOC), Lugano, Switzerland
| | - Veronica Magni
- Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | | | - Pascal A T Baltzer
- Division of General and Paediatric Radiology, Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-Guided Therapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | | | - Paola Clauser
- Division of General and Paediatric Radiology, Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-Guided Therapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Eva M Fallenberg
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Klinikum Rechts Der Isar, Technical University of Munich (TUM), Munich, Germany
| | - Gabor Forrai
- Department of Radiology, Duna Medical Center, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Michael H Fuchsjäger
- Division of General Radiology, Department of Radiology, Medical University Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Fiona J Gilbert
- Department of Radiology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Thomas Helbich
- Division of General and Paediatric Radiology, Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-Guided Therapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | | | - Christiane K Kuhl
- University Hospital of Aachen, Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule, Aachen, Germany
| | - Mihai Lesaru
- Radiology and Imaging Laboratory, Fundeni Institute, Bucharest, Romania
| | - Ritse M Mann
- Department of Radiology, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Pietro Panizza
- Breast Imaging Unit, IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
| | - Federica Pediconi
- Department of Radiological, Oncological and Pathological Sciences, Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", Rome, Italy
| | - Francesco Sardanelli
- Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
- Unit of Radiology, IRCCS Policlinico San Donato, San Donato Milanese, Italy
| | - Tamar Sella
- Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel
| | | | - Sophia Zackrisson
- Diagnostic Radiology, Department of Translational Medicine, Skåne University Hospital, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden
| | - Ruud M Pijnappel
- Department of Imaging, University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
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Schiaffino S, Pinker K, Magni V, Cozzi A, Athanasiou A, Baltzer PAT, Camps Herrero J, Clauser P, Fallenberg EM, Forrai G, Fuchsjäger MH, Helbich TH, Kilburn-Toppin F, Kuhl CK, Lesaru M, Mann RM, Panizza P, Pediconi F, Pijnappel RM, Sella T, Thomassin-Naggara I, Zackrisson S, Gilbert FJ, Sardanelli F. Axillary lymphadenopathy at the time of COVID-19 vaccination: ten recommendations from the European Society of Breast Imaging (EUSOBI). Insights Imaging 2021; 12:119. [PMID: 34417642 PMCID: PMC8378785 DOI: 10.1186/s13244-021-01062-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2021] [Accepted: 07/17/2021] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Unilateral axillary lymphadenopathy is a frequent mild side effect of COVID-19 vaccination. European Society of Breast Imaging (EUSOBI) proposes ten recommendations to standardise its management and reduce unnecessary additional imaging and invasive procedures: (1) in patients with previous history of breast cancer, vaccination should be performed in the contralateral arm or in the thigh; (2) collect vaccination data for all patients referred to breast imaging services, including patients undergoing breast cancer staging and follow-up imaging examinations; (3) perform breast imaging examinations preferentially before vaccination or at least 12 weeks after the last vaccine dose; (4) in patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer, apply standard imaging protocols regardless of vaccination status; (5) in any case of symptomatic or imaging-detected axillary lymphadenopathy before vaccination or at least 12 weeks after, examine with appropriate imaging the contralateral axilla and both breasts to exclude malignancy; (6) in case of axillary lymphadenopathy contralateral to the vaccination side, perform standard work-up; (7) in patients without breast cancer history and no suspicious breast imaging findings, lymphadenopathy only ipsilateral to the vaccination side within 12 weeks after vaccination can be considered benign or probably-benign, depending on clinical context; (8) in patients without breast cancer history, post-vaccination lymphadenopathy coupled with suspicious breast finding requires standard work-up, including biopsy when appropriate; (9) in patients with breast cancer history, interpret and manage post-vaccination lymphadenopathy considering the timeframe from vaccination and overall nodal metastatic risk; (10) complex or unclear cases should be managed by the multidisciplinary team.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone Schiaffino
- Unit of Radiology, IRCCS Policlinico San Donato, San Donato Milanese, Italy
| | - Katja Pinker
- Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, Division of General and Pediatric Radiology, Research Group: Molecular and Gender Imaging, Medical University of Vienna, Wien, Austria.,Department of Radiology, Breast Imaging Service, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Veronica Magni
- Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Andrea Cozzi
- Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | | | - Pascal A T Baltzer
- Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, Division of General and Pediatric Radiology, Research Group: Molecular and Gender Imaging, Medical University of Vienna, Wien, Austria
| | | | - Paola Clauser
- Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, Division of General and Pediatric Radiology, Research Group: Molecular and Gender Imaging, Medical University of Vienna, Wien, Austria
| | - Eva M Fallenberg
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, School of Medicine & Klinikum Rechts der Isar, Technical University of Munich (TUM) , München , Germany
| | - Gábor Forrai
- Department of Radiology, Duna Medical Center, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Michael H Fuchsjäger
- Division of General Radiology, Department of Radiology, Medical University Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Thomas H Helbich
- Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, Division of General and Pediatric Radiology, Research Group: Molecular and Gender Imaging, Medical University of Vienna, Wien, Austria
| | | | - Christiane K Kuhl
- University Hospital of Aachen, Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen, Aachen, Germany
| | - Mihai Lesaru
- Radiology and Imaging Laboratory, Fundeni Institute, Bucharest, Romania
| | - Ritse M Mann
- Department of Medical Imaging, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,Department of Radiology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Pietro Panizza
- Breast Imaging Unit, IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
| | - Federica Pediconi
- Department of Radiological, Oncological, and Pathological Sciences , Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza" , Rome, Italy
| | - Ruud M Pijnappel
- Department of Imaging, University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Tamar Sella
- Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel
| | | | - Sophia Zackrisson
- Diagnostic Radiology, Department of Translational Medicine, Skåne University Hospital, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden
| | - Fiona J Gilbert
- Department of Radiology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Francesco Sardanelli
- Unit of Radiology, IRCCS Policlinico San Donato, San Donato Milanese, Italy. .,Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.
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