Developing Asymmetries without Sonographic Correlate at Digital Breast Tomosynthesis

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Background: Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) has improved the accuracy of mammography, including resolving many breast asymmetries as overlapping breast tissue. The pathologic outcomes of persistent developing asymmetries visualized at DBT are not well established. Purpose: To characterize the outcomes and the predictors of malignancy for developing asymmetries visualized at DBT without a sonographic correlate. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study included all tomosynthesis-guided biopsies of developing asymmetries performed at a single institution from May 2017 through January 2020. A reader study including three breast imaging radiologists determined interrater agreement and inclusion into the study. Electronic medical records were used to extract patient characteristics, imaging characteristics, and pathologic diagnoses. The Wilcoxon rank sum test, Fisher exact test, and χ2 test were used to analyze correlations of patient and imaging characteristics with likelihood of malignancy. Results: The reader study included 95 DBT examinations with moderate interrater reliability (Fleiss k = 0.45). There was majority reader agreement in 85 of the 95 DBT examinations (89%) of 83 women (median age, 56 years; interquartile range, 47-69 years), and this finalized the study data set. At pathologic examination, most asymmetries (68 of 85, 80%) were benign, with common diagnoses being fibrocystic change (n = 20), stromal fibrosis (n = 10), and fat necrosis (n = 10). The overall malignancy rate was 20% (17 of 85 asymmetries; 95% CI: 12, 29); 15 of the 17 malignancies (88%) were invasive cancers. Malignancies were more common in women with a personal history of breast cancer (35% vs 10%, P =.02). Conclusion: In 85 developing asymmetries visualized at digital breast tomosynthesis without a sonographic correlate, there was a 20% (95% CI: 12, 29) malignancy rate, which was higher than the rates of malignancy for a developing asymmetry detected at digital mammography.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)525-532
Number of pages8
JournalRADIOLOGY
Volume302
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2022

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Radiology Nuclear Medicine and imaging

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