The Upgrade Risk of B3 Lesions to (Pre)Invasive Breast Cancer After Diagnosis on Core Needle or Vacuum Assisted Biopsy. A Belgian National Cohort Study

Current management of B3 lesions is usually wide excision, surveillance might be sufficient for some. This study investigates the upgrade risk of B3 lesions diagnosed on core needle biopsy (CNB) or vacuum assisted biopsy, which are comparable to those in international literature except for flat epithelial atypia diagnosed on CNB. Based on the observed upgrade rate we propose a guideline applicable for the Belgian population. Introduction: Flat epithelial atypia (FEA), lobular neoplasia (LN), papillary lesions (PL), radial scar (RS) and atypical ductal hyperplasia (ADH) are lesions of uncertain malignant potential and classified as B3 lesions by the European guidelines for quality assurance in breast cancer screening and diagnosis. Current management is usually wide local excision (WE), surveillance may be sufficient for some. We investigated the upgrade rate of B3 lesions to breast malignancy in a subsequent resection specimen after diagnosis on core needle-or vacuum assisted biopsy (CNB-VAB) in a national population-based series. Methods: Using data from the Belgian Cancer Registry (BCR) between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2016, inclusion cr iter ia were new diagnosis of a B3 lesion on CNB or VAB with subsequent histological assessment on a wider excision specimen. Histological agreement between first- and follow-up investigation was analyzed to determine the upgrade risk to ductal adenocarcinoma in situ (DCIS) or invasive breast cancer (IC) according to the type of B3 lesion. Results: Of 1855 diagnosed B3 lesions, 812 were included in this study: 551 after CNB-261 after VAB. After diagnosis on CNB and VAB, we found 19.0% and 14.9% upgrade to malignancy respectively. Upgrade risks after CNB and VAB were: FEA 39.5% and 17.6%; LN 40.5% and 4.3%; PL 10.4% and 12.5%; RS 25.7%and 0.0%; ADH 29.5% and 20.0%. Conclusion: Based on the observed upgrade rate we propose three recommendations: first, resection of ADH, and FEA with WE; second, resection of RS and classical LN with therapeutic VAB and further surveillance when radio-pathological correlation is concordant; third, surveillance of PL.

Automated summary

Current management of B3 lesions typically involves wide excision, although surveillance may be sufficient for some patients. This study investigates the upgrade risk of B3 lesions diagnosed on core needle biopsy (CNB) or vacuum assisted biopsy (VAB), which is comparable to international literature except for flat epithelial atypia diagnosed on CNB. Based on the observed upgrade rate, a guideline applicable for the Belgian population is proposed.