Breast adenomyoepithelioma from a radiologic perspective

Abstract

Adenomyoepithelioma of the breast (AB) is an uncommon tumor that is characterized by the biphasic proliferation of epithelial and myoepithelial cells. The radiologic findings for AB have been scantly reported. This paper aims to analyze the characteristic findings for AB on ultrasonography (US) and mammography. This retrospective descriptive study used the Breast Imaging-Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) to analyze the US and mammography findings for histologically confirmed AB in patients attended at our institution between 2007 and 2019. We identified a total of 13 AB in 13 women. All patients underwent US. On US, 12 lesions were seen as oval nodules, and the remaining lesion was irregular-shaped; 8 lesions had circumscribed margins, 3 had angled margins, and 2 had microlobulated margins. Regarding the echo pattern, 8 lesions were hypoechoic and 5 were complex (solid-cystic). On color Doppler, 11 lesions were vascularized nodules and 2 were avascular nodules. In conclusion, we present the imaging characteristics for a series of cases of AB. It is unlikely that this lesion can be suspected solely on the basis of the imaging findings; nevertheless, it is important for radiologists to be familiar with AB to carry out a good radiopathologic correlation.