Association between ultrasound morphologic features and histopathological findings of lobular carcinoma

Abstract

INTRODUCTION : Despite the incidence and recurrence rates of breast cancer, there are currently no biomarkers to predict which cases will develop into lobular carcinoma (LC). The purpose of this study was to determine the association between ultrasound morphologic characteristics of LC and histopathological classifications. METHODS : A retrospective, cross-sectional study was conducted on the ultrasound images and histopathological reports of 100 patients with a confirmed LC diagnosis between January 2013 and December 2016. RESULTS : Morphologic ultrasound characteristics most frequently reported in the dataset of positively diagnosed LC patients were; irregular ultrasound shape (86%), hypoechoic echogenicity (88%), poorly circumscribed margin (95%), posterior acoustic enhancement (93%) and absent calcifications (81%). Using Fisher’s extract test, it was found that stromal fibrosis, single file type pattern, atypical lobular hyperplasia and LC Grade II were significantly correlated with irregular shape and hypoechoic echogenicity. CONCLUSION : A prognostic predictor tool can be designed from this study’s findings which can then be used in practice to raise awareness of the unique morphometric markers related to LC of the breast.