Apparent diffusion coefficient values in borderline breast lesions upgraded and not upgraded at definitive histopathological examination after surgical excision

Corrado Tagliati; Paola Piccinni; Paola Ercolani; Elisabetta Marconi; Barbara Franca Simonetti; Gian Marco Giuseppetti; Andrea Giovagnoni

doi:10.5114/pjr.2021.105857

Apparent diffusion coefficient values in borderline breast lesions upgraded and not upgraded at definitive histopathological examination after surgical excision

Pol J Radiol. 2021 Apr 30:86:e255-e261. doi: 10.5114/pjr.2021.105857. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Corrado Tagliati¹, Paola Piccinni¹, Paola Ercolani², Elisabetta Marconi², Barbara Franca Simonetti², Gian Marco Giuseppetti³, Andrea Giovagnoni³

Affiliations

¹ Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy.
² Department of Radiological Sciences, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Ospedali Riuniti, Ancona, Italy.
³ Department of Radiological Sciences, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Ospedali Riuniti, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy.

Abstract

Purpose: The study aims were to evaluate if the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value could distinguish between breast lesions classified as B3 at core needle biopsy (CNB) that show or do not show atypia or malignancy at definitive histopathological examination (DHE) after surgical excision.

Material and methods: From January 2013 to December 2017, 141 patients with a B3 breast lesion underwent magnetic resonance imaging and were included in the study. The ADC value was assessed drawing a ROI outlining the entire lesion, evaluating the mean (ADC_mean) and minimum ADC values (ADC_min).

Results: Both ADC_mean and ADC_min values showed a statistically significant difference between B3 lesions without and with malignancy or, for B3a lesions, atypia at DHE. They both showed a statistically significant difference also between B3a lesions without or with atypia or malignancy at DHE, but only ADC_min (not ADC_mean) showed statistically significant difference between B3b lesions without or with malignancy at DHE.

Conclusions: The ADC value could help distinguish between B3a lesions without or with atypia/malignancy at DHE after surgical excision and between B3b lesions without or with malignancy at DHE. Therefore, it could be used to help guide the diagnostic-therapeutic pathway of these lesions, particularly of B3a lesions.

Keywords: ADC value; B3 lesions; borderline breast lesions; breast MRI.