Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate MRI features of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) compared with non-TNBC, to predict histopathological results. In the study, 26 patients with TNBC and 24 with non-TNBC who underwent multiparametric MRI of the breast on a 3 T magnet over a 10-months period were retrospectively recruited. MR imaging sets were evaluated by two experienced breast radiologists in consensus and classified according to the 2013 American College of Radiology (ACR) BI-RADS lexicon. The comparison between the two groups was performed using the Chi-square test and followed by logistic regression analyses. We found that 92% of tumors presented as mass enhancements (p = 0.192). 41.7% of TNBC and 86.4% of non-TNBC had irregular shape (p = 0.005); 58.3% of TNBC showed circumscribed margins, compared to 9.1% of non-TNBC masses (p = 0.001); 75% of TNBC and 9.1% of non-TNBC showed rim enhancement (p < 0.001). Intralesional necrosis was significantly associated with TNBC (p = 0.016). Rim enhancement and intralesional necrosis risulted to be positive predictors at univariate analysis (OR = 29.86, and 8.10, respectively) and the multivariate analysis confirmed that rim enhancement is independently associated with TNBC (OR = 33.08). The mean ADC values were significantly higher for TNBC (p = 0.011). In conclusion, TNBC is associated with specific MRI features that can be possible predictors of pathological results, with a consequent prognostic value.
Highlights
Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease with different morphologic features, clinical course and response to treatment
A total of 50 patients were included in this study, 26 affected by Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and 24 affected by non-TNBC
No statistical association was found between tumor size and TNBC subtype (p = 0.308), even if TNBC were larger than non-TNBC on average
Summary
Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease with different morphologic features, clinical course and response to treatment. Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), characterized by ER, PgR and HER2 negativity, is commonly used as a surrogate for intrinsic basal-like subtype and accounts for 10–20% of invasive breast cancers [5]. TNBC is a biologically and clinically aggressive tumor (with an increased rate of local recurrence and distant metastases, compared to other breast cancer subtypes [5]), characterized by early onset (usually
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