A clinico-pathological study on cancer in sclerosing adenosis

Validation of prostate and breast cancer detection artificial intelligence algorithms for accurate histopathological diagnosis and grading: a retrospective study with a Japanese cohort

Prostate and breast cancer incidence rates have been on the rise in Japan, emphasising the need for precise histopathological diagnosis to determine patient prognosis and guide treatment decisions. However, existing diagnostic methods face numerous challenges and are susceptible to inconsistencies between observers. To tackle these issues, artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms have been developed to aid in the diagnosis of prostate and breast cancer. This study focuses on validating the performance of two such algorithms, Galen Prostate and Galen Breast, in a Japanese cohort, with a particular focus on the grading accuracy and the ability to differentiate between invasive and non-invasive tumours. The research entailed a retrospective examination of 100 consecutive prostate and 100 consecutive breast biopsy cases obtained from a Japanese institution. Our findings demonstrated that the AI algorithms showed accurate cancer detection, with AUCs of 0.969 and 0.997 for the Galen Prostate and Galen Breast, respectively. The Galen Prostate was able to detect a higher Gleason score in four adenocarcinoma cases and detect a previously unreported cancer. The two algorithms successfully identified relevant pathological features, such as perineural invasions and lymphovascular invasions. Although further improvements are required to accurately differentiate rare cancer subtypes, these findings highlight the potential of these algorithms to enhance the precision and efficiency of prostate and breast cancer diagnosis in Japan. Furthermore, this validation paves the way for broader adoption of these algorithms as decision support tools within the Asian population.

Value of multimodal imaging in the diagnosis of breast sclerosing adenosis associated with malignant lesions

AIM

To explore the diagnostic value of multimodal imaging techniques, including automatic breast volume scanner (ABVS), mammography (MG), and magnetic resonance (MRI) in breast sclerosing adenosis (SA) associated with malignant lesions.

METHODS

From January 2018 to October 2020, 76 patients (88 lesions) with pathologically confirmed as SA associated with malignant or benign lesions were retrospective analyzed. All patients completed ABVS examination, 58 patients (67 lesions) with MG and 50 patients (62 lesions) with MRI were also completed before biopsy or surgical excision, of which, six patients (eight lesions) diagnosed as Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) category 3 by all imaging examinations underwent surgical excision without biopsy, other 70 patients (80 lesions) with BI-RADS category 4 or above by any imaging examination completed biopsy, including 65 patients (75 lesions) were further surgical excised and the other five patients (five lesions) were just followed up. All lesions were retrospectively described and classified, and were divided into benign group and malignant group according to their pathological results. Image features of different examination methods between the two groups were compared and analyzed. A ROC curve was established using the sensitivity of BI-RADS categories to predict malignant lesions in different imaging techniques as the ordinate and 1-specificity as the abscissa.

RESULTS

88 lesions including 26 purely SA and 45 SA associated with benign lesions were classified as benign group, and the remaining 17 SA associated with malignant lesions were classified as malignant group. On ABVS, 40 mass lesions, their heterogeneous echo, not circumscribed margin and coronal convergence signs were statistically significant for malignant lesions (p < .05), but the remain 48 nonmass lesions lack specific sonographic features. On MG, 12 showed negative results, 55 showed with microcalcification, mass, structural distortion, and asymmetric density shadow, of which 11 lesions had the above two signs at the same time, but only microcalcification had statistical difference between the two groups. 35 mass enhanced lesions and 27 nonmass enhanced lesions on MRI, but there were no significant difference between their pathological results. Time signal intensity curves showed no differences, but ADC value <1.10 × 10^-3  mm² /s is more significant in malignant lesions (p < .05). The area under the ROC curve (AUC) of BI-RADS classification of ABVS, MG, and MRI in the diagnosis of malignant lesions were 0.611, 0.474, and 0.751, respectively, and the AUC of the combined diagnosis of the three was 0.761.

CONCLUSION

Mass lesions with heterogeneous echo, not circumscribed margin and coronal convergence sign on ABVS, microcalcification on MG and the ADC value <1.10 × 10^-3  mm² /s on MRI are significant signs for SA associated with malignant lesions. The combined diagnosis of the three methods was the highest, and the following were MRI, ABVS, and MG. Therefore, be cognizant of significant characteristics in SA associated with malignancy showed in different imaging examinations can improve the preoperative evaluation of SA and better provide basis for subsequent clinical decision-making.

Conventional and contrast-enhanced ultrasound features in sclerosing adenosis and correlation with pathology

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the efficacy of conventional ultrasound (US) and contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in differential diagnosis of sclerosing adenosis (SA) from malignance and investigate the correlated features with pathology.

METHODS

We retrospectively enrolled 103 pathologically confirmed SA. All lesions were evaluated with conventional US while 31 lesions with CEUS. Lesions were divided into SA with or without benign lesions (Group 1, n = 81) and SA with malignancy (Group 2, n = 22). Performance of two methods were analyzed. The ultrasonographic characteristics were compared between two groups with Student's t-test for measurement and chi-squared or Fisher's exact test for count data.

RESULTS

There were 22 lesions complicated with malignancy, and the mean age of Group 2 was higher than Group 1 (55.27 vs. 41.57, p < 0.001). The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of conventional US and CEUS were 95.45%, 46.91%, 57.28% and 100%, 62.5%, 70.97%. Angularity (p < 0.001), spicules (p = 0.023), calcification (p = 0.026) and enlarged scope (p = 0.012) or crab claw-like enhancement (p = 0.008) in CEUS were more frequent detected in SA with malignancy.

CONCLUSIONS

Though CEUS showed an improved accuracy, the performance of ultrasound in the diagnosis of SA was limited. Awareness and careful review of the histopathologically related imaging features can be helpful in the diagnosis of SA.

Breast carcinoma in sclerosing adenosis: a clinicopathological and immunophenotypical analysis on 206 lesions

Aims

To fully elucidate the clinicopathological features of breast carcinoma in sclerosing adenosis (SA-BC).

Methods

Clinical and histological characteristics of 206 SA-BCs from 180 patients were retrospectively evaluated. Immunohistochemical phenotype was examined. The clinicopathological relevance of the topographical pattern of SA-BCs was analysed.

Results

Overall, up to 46 patients (25.6%) had contralateral cancer, either SA associated or not. Of 99 cases who underwent core needle biopsy (CNB), 36 were underestimated as adenosis or atypical ductal hyperplasia at CNB, 5 invasive cases were misinterpreted as in situ carcinomas, whereas 4 ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) cases were overdiagnosed as invasive carcinoma. Microscopically, 163 tumours were in situ, including 136 DCIS, 19 lobular carcinomas in situ (LCIS) and 8 mixed DCIS/LCIS; of these carcinomas in situ (CIS), 37 had microinvasion. The DCIS group exhibited low, intermediate and high grades in 53.7%, 34.6% and 11.8% of cases, respectively, mostly with solid (43.4%) or cribriform (41.9%) pattern. Forty out of 43 invasive cases were invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC), mostly DCIS predominant. Immunophenotypically, luminal A phenotype was identified in 55.1%, 63.2% and 45.0% of DCIS, LCIS and IDC cases, respectively. Topographical type A group (carcinoma being entirely confined to SA, n=176) was characterised by smaller size, less invasiveness, lower grade and more frequency of luminal A immunophenotype compared with type B group (≥ 50% but not all of the carcinomatous lesion being located in SA, n=30) (all P<0.05).

Conclusions

CIS, especially non-high-grade DCIS, represents the most common variant of SA-BC, and luminal A is the most predominant immunophenotype. CNB assessment might be challenging in some SA-BCs. The topographical pattern has great clinicopathological relevance. Careful evaluation of the contralateral breast and long-term follow-up for patients with SA-BC is necessary given its high prevalence of bilaterality.

Sclerosing adenosis: Ultrasonographic and mammographic findings and correlation with histopathology

The present study was conducted to evaluate the radiological findings, particularly the ultrasonographic (US) characteristics of sclerosing adenosis (SA), and their correlation with histopathological results. A retrospective review identified 191 patients with a total of 200 lesions histopathologically confirmed as SA following breast surgery between July 2009 and December 2012. Of the 191 patients, 145 (151 lesions) with SA as the major component were included for US and mammographic (MG) analysis. All 145 patients analyzed were female, with a mean age ± standard deviation of 46.8±7.8 years (range, 25-71 years). All 145 patients underwent US examination and the imaging findings included heterogeneously echogenic areas in 9.3% (14/151), masses in 51.7% (78/151), masses with calcifications in 13.9% (21/151), focal acoustic shadowing in 4.0% (6/151) and were negative in 21.2% (32/151) patients. Among the 119 lesions with visible abnormalities, 87.4% (104/119) were hypoechoic, 58.0% (69/119) were irregular in shape, 52.1% (62/119) had an ill-defined margin, calcifications were found in 17.6% (21/119) and 7.6% (9/119) were hypervascular, while none of the characteristics mentioned above were significantly correlated with histopathology. A total of 136 patients underwent MG at the Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, and the imaging findings included microcalcifications in 31.6% (43/136), masses in 23.5% (32/136), asymmetric focal density in 14.7% (20/136), focal architectural distortion in 22.8% (31/136), and were negative in 7.4% (10/136). The mass lesions were fewer on MG compared with US (23.5 vs. 65.6%, respectively). The area under the curve of US distinguishing between benign and malignant lesions was significantly larger compared with that of MG (0.547 vs. 0.497, respectively; P=0.036). In the 60 lesions that were overestimated by Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System US category, one or more characteristics of malignancy were found on US imaging. The most common finding of SA was masses with or without calcifications on US and microcalcifications on MG. The accuracy of US was limited, but higher compared with that of MG; however, SA mimicking the characteristics of malignancy may contribute to misdiagnosis with US.

Breast Sclerosing Adenosis and Accompanying Malignancies: A Clinicopathological and Imaging Study in a Chinese Population

Sclerosing adenosis (SA) is a less common histopathological lesion of the breast that can coexist with proliferative lesions as well as malignancies. We aimed to analyze the clinicopathological characteristics of SA and to investigate the radiological features of SA.Patients who underwent breast surgery at our institute from 2007 to 2013 were retrospectively reviewed. A total of 815 breasts (722 patients) were included in the final analysis. Synchronous bilateral SA was defined as the detection of another SA arising in the contralateral breast within 1 month after surgery for the initial breast lesion. Baseline characteristics, imaging records (ultrasonography, mammography, and magnetic resonance imaging [MRI]), and pathology were included in the analysis.The median age at diagnosis was 47 years old. The majority of patients had unilateral non-Bc-SA (457/722). Among 102 patients with bilateral SA, 78.4% were diagnosed synchronously. In total, 26 patients suffered from synchronous bilateral breast cancer. Upon final pathological investigation, 226 cases were SA involving breast cancer (Bc-SA), most (56.2%) of which were ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). In addition, lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) and diseases that involved LCIS also comprised up to 11.1% of cases. The majority of SA cases (405; 49.7%) had no obvious symptoms except for imaging changes in mammography or ultrasound. Compared with non-Bc-SA cases, Bc-SA cases were more likely to exhibit features of mass (32.8% vs. 28.6%) and architectural distortion (20.4% vs. 13.0%) on mammography. Ultrasonography, mammography, and MRI revealed unsatisfactory sensitivity and specificity to differentiate Bc-SA from non-Bc-SA. MRI exhibited the highest sensitivity and lowest specificity, whereas the specificity of mammography was as low as 50.0%.A tendency for synchronous bilaterality in both Bc-SA and non-Bc-SA was noted. DCIS was the most commonly observed malignancy involved in Bc-SA. Although most patients with SA were asymptomatic, the ability of imaging studies to accurately differentiate non-Bc-SA from Bc-SA remained unsatisfactory.

Sclerosing adenosis as a predictor of breast cancer bilaterality and multicentricity

Breast cancer is occasionally complicated by sclerosing adenosis (SA). Although both lesions usually originate in the terminal duct lobular unit, their pathogenetic relationship has not yet been elucidated. The present study analyzed 63 breast cancer patients with SA (involving a total of 75 breasts) to clarify if coexisting SA increased the frequency of multicentric breast cancer or not. Using the topographical classification proposed in our previous study, breast cancers with SA were classified into the following three types: type A (n = 22), cancer area was completely surrounded by the SA; type B (n = 26), cancer area partially overlapped the SA; and type C (n = 27), cancer area was located separate from the SA. Breast cancers with SA had a significant (P < 0.001) increase in frequency of harboring bilateral and multicentric cancers [17 of 63 (27%) and 15 of 63 (24%), respectively] when compared to breast cancer patients without SA, regardless of topographical type. Breast cancers with SA were less invasive (P < 0.001), of lower histological grade (P = 0.034), and had similar frequency of estrogen receptor-positive (P = 0.21) and HER2-positive (P = 0.74) tumors. In conclusion, contralateral and ipsilateral multicentric breast cancers occurred at a higher frequency in those with SA. Our data suggest that SA is, in addition to lobular neoplasia, a predictor of multicentric breast cancers.

Sclerosing adenosis of the breast: report of two cases and review of the literature

BACKGROUND

Sclerosing adenosis is a benign, usually asymptomatic lobulocentric proliferative process that involves both the epithelial and the mesenchymal component of the breast. It is commonly an incidental finding in perimenopausal women undergoing screening mammography.

CASE REPORT

We reported on two patients with sclerosing adenosis assessed with mammography, ultrasound, and contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging. Case 1 was a 21-year-old woman with a palpable lesion in her right breast that was depicted as an irregular mass on contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging. Case 2 was an asymptomatic 42-year-old woman with suspicious ultrasound findings in her left breast; contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging showed regional non-mass-like enhancement associated with increased vascularity. Both patients underwent ultrasound-guided vacuum-assisted biopsy. Sclerosing adenosis does not have distinctive radiological features and can mimic a malignant growth process, thus requiring a diagnostic biopsy.

CONCLUSIONS

SA is a common, benign, generally asymptomatic proliferative lesion of the breast. It is associated with a doubling of the risk of developing breast carcinoma, even though its role in carcinogenesis remains to be elucidated. It does not exhibit distinctive MG, US or even MRI features. Since it may mimic a carcinoma it requires further investigation with a diagnostic biopsy.

A clinicopathological study of early-stage synchronous bilateral breast cancer: a retrospective evaluation and prospective validation of potential risk factors

Background

The aim of the present study was to investigate potential risk factors for synchronous bilateral breast cancer sBBC).

Methods

A retrospective analysis was performed of patients diagnosed and treated with operable bilateral breast cancer (BBC) between June 2007 and December 2011. Risk factors for sBBC were evaluated in this cohort and further validated in a prospective observational validation analysis of patients between January 2012 and December 2012. Patients treated with operable unilateral breast cancer during the same period were used as a control group.

Results

A total of 11,247 patients with primary breast cancer underwent operations at the Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center between June 2007 and December 2012. The incidence of sBBC was 1.6%. The age at diagnosis (HR = 2.4, 95% C.I.: 1.4–4.0, p = 0.001), presence of sclerosing adenosis (HR = 11.8, 95% C.I.: 5.3–26.3, p<0.001), lobular carcinoma component involvement (HR = 5.6, 95% C.I.: 2.6–12.1, p<0.001), and family history of first-degree relatives with breast cancer (HR = 2.0, 95% C.I.: 1.1–3.4, p<0.001) were independent risk factors for sBBC. A subsequent validation study failed to confirm the significance of family history. No significant difference on survival was found between patients with early-stage sBBC and control cases.

Conclusions

Patients with the presence of sclerosing in the affected breast, and lobular carcinoma component involvement may be at high risk for developing sBBC. This study supports the hypothesis that the host-carcinoma biological relationship, especially for the tumor microenvironment, played a critical role in the carcinogenesis of sBBC.