Lupus mastitis (LM) is a rare presentation of lupus panniculitis (LP) that usually affects women of childbearing age and may mimic malignancy. The condition is recurrent and progresses along with the underlying disease. Breast pathology that may be associated with LM includes fat necrosis, calcification, fibrosis, scarring, and breast atrophy. Therefore, LM should be considered in the differential diagnosis of a suspicious breast mass on mammography or ultrasound, particularly if the patient has a background of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) or discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE). Traumatic procedures such as surgery or biopsy may worsen the condition and it is advisable to avoid biopsy if the diagnosis can be established through accurate patient history, with identification of typical clinical and radiological features. Thus, awareness of the radiologic and clinical features of LM is essential to avoid unnecessary interventional procedures that carry the potential for disease exacerbation. The authors present here the imaging findings of LM in a 37-year old female with SLE, which presented as bilateral palpable breast lumps.
In this study, we aimed to determine the prevalence of gynecomastia by evaluating computed tomography (CT) images of male patients who were admitted to our hospital during the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This study included a total of 1,877 patients who underwent chest CT for prediagnosis of COVID-19 pneumonia between March 15th and May 15th, 2020. All images were evaluated for the presence of gynecomastia. Gynecomastia patterns were evaluated according to morphological features, and diagnoses were made by measuring the largest glandular tissue diameter. Statistical analysis was performed with IBM SPSS software version 25.0. The prevalence of gynecomastia was 32.3%. In terms of pattern, 22% were nodular, 57% were dendritic, and 21% were diffuse glandular gynecomastia. A significant correlation was found between age and gynecomastia pattern (p<0.001). The incidence of nodular, dendritic, and diffuse glandular gynecomastia increased with advancing age. A significant difference was found in the analysis of the correlation between age groups and glandular tissue diameters (p<0.001). With an increase in glandular tissue diameter, the gynecomastia pattern changed from a nodular to a diffuse glandular pattern. In our study, gynecomastia diagnosis was made through axial CT images. Although CT should not replace mammography and ultrasonography for clinical diagnosis of gynecomastia, chest CT scans can be used to evaluate patients with suspected gynecomastia.
1 July 2023 in Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology
The clinical management of high-risk lesions using image-guided biopsy is challenging. This study aimed to evaluate the rates at which such lesions were upgraded to malignancy and identify possible predictive factors for upgrading high-risk lesions. This retrospective multicenter analysis included 1.343 patients diagnosed with high-risk lesions using an image-guided core needle or vacuum-assisted biopsy (VAB). Only patients managed using an excisional biopsy or with at least one year of documented radiological follow-up were included. For each, the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) category, number of samples, needle thickness, and lesion size were correlated with malignancy upgrade rates in different histologic subtypes. Pearson's chi-squared test, the Fisher-Freeman-Halton test, and Fisher's exact test were used for the statistical analyses. The overall upgrade rate was 20.6%, with the highest rates in the subtypes of intraductal papilloma (IP) with atypia (44.7%; 55/123), followed by atypical ductal hyperplasia (ADH) (38.4%; 144/375), lobular neoplasia (LN) (12.7%; 7/55), papilloma without atypia (9.4%; 58/611), flat epithelial atypia (FEA) (8.7%; 10/114), and radial scars (RSs) (4.6%; 3/65). There was a significant relationship between the upgrade rate and BI-RADS category, number of samples, and lesion size Lesion size was the most predictive factor for an upgrade in all subtypes. ADH and atypical IP showed considerable upgrade rates to malignancy, requiring surgical excision. The LN, IP without atypia, pure FEA, and RS subtypes showed lower malignancy rates when the BI-RADS category was lower and in smaller lesions that had been adequately sampled using VAB. After being discussed in a multidisciplinary meeting, these cases could be managed with follow-up instead of excision.
Vascular tumors are rare in the breasts, and the most common forms include hemangiomas and angiosarcomas. Hemangiomas are rare benign vascular tumors. Most of them are asymptomatic and nonpalpable clinically, and the vast majority of such lesions are detected incidentally by mammography. Breast hemangiomas are difficult to diagnose using conventional imaging modalities since their imaging findings are variable. The following is a case presentation of an asymptomatic forty-five-year old female patient who was diagnosed with a rare hemangioma. Physical examination, ultrasonography (US) and mammographic examination were normal. Dynamic contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a non-mass pathological enhancement. After a short-term follow up, a comparative MRI was obtained and biopsy was planned, due to the heterogeneous non-mass enhancement on MRI. Needle core biopsy with US guidance was performed, resulting in benign findings. However, because of the discordance between imaging and histopathology, an MRI-guided wire localization followed by open surgical biopsy was performed. Histopathologic evaluation reported capillary hemangioma.The imaging findings, including US, mammography and MRI, of hemangioma are reviewed and described in this case report.
Suspicious architectural distortion is an elusive finding in breast cancer diagnosis. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the Kaiser score for suspicious architectural distortions observed on mammography and compare it with the BI-RADS score of the lesion. Mammograms performed between January 2013 and March 2023 were retrospectively analyzed for the presence of suspicious architectural distortion. Forty-one patients, who had at least 1 year of radiological follow-up or pathology results, and underwent breast MRI, were included in the study. Mammography findings and the BI-RADS category of the lesion were assessed. MRI findings were evaluated and Kaiser scoring was performed according to the tree flowchart. Ninety-one percent of the enhanced lesions had a Kaiser score of 5 and above. In the diagnosis of malignancy, the Kaiser score yielded an accuracy of 75.61% (AUC 0.833). A statistically significant correlation was observed indicating that a malignant diagnosis was more prevalent in patients with a Kaiser score of 5 and above (p < 0.05). Additionally statistically significant relationship was also observed between the BI-RADS category of architectural distortions on mammography and the Kaiser score (p = 0.007). The combined utilization of mammography findings and the evidence-based Kaiser score in suspected architectural distortions provides more accurate results in the differential diagnosis of breast cancer.
Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome (BWS) is a human genomic imprinting disorder that presents with a wide spectrum of clinical features, including overgrowth, abdominal wall defects, macroglossia, neonatal hypoglycemia, and predisposition to embryonal tumors. Its diagnosis is based on molecular tests or clinical signs. However, in children with features of BWS who do not fulfill the clinical diagnostic criteria, the molecular tests may play an important role in the diagnosis. There is an increased risk of embryonal tumors in patients with BWS, but few case reports have been reported on benign breast tumors in female adolescents with this syndrome. To our knowledge, this is the first case report in the literature that describes the imaging findings of fibroepithelial breast tumors (phyllodes tumor and fibroadenomas) in a 13-year-old female with BWS, highlighting the need for lifelong tumor surveillance in this patient population.