Variation in Pathological Appearance Across Repeated Sampling from Probably Benign Breast Lesions
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Trial Population
2.2. Diagnosis and Excision Procedure
2.3. Data Analysis
2.4. Statistical Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Study Population
3.2. Change in Primary Diagnosis After FNA
3.3. Change in Diagnosis After CNB
3.4. Comparison of Diagnoses Between Subsequent VAE Rounds
3.5. Comparison of Diagnoses Between VAE and Surgery
3.6. Cancer Diagnoses
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
Abbreviations
| ADH | Atypical Ductal Hyperplasia |
| ALH | Atypical Lobular Hyperplasia |
| BI-RADS | Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System |
| CNB | Core-Needle Biopsy |
| DCIS | Ductal Cancer In Situ |
| FEA | Flat Epithelial Atypia |
| FNA | Fine-Needle Aspiration |
| cLCIS | Classical Lobular Cancer In Situ |
| LN | Lobular Neoplasia |
| OSE | Open Surgical Excision |
| PASH | Pseudoangiomatous Stromal Hyperplasia |
| VAB | Vacuum-Assisted Biopsy |
| VAE | Vacuum-Assisted Excision |
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| Total Number of Lesions (n = 169) | |
|---|---|
| FNA only | 43 (25%) |
| CNB only | 98 (58%) |
| FNA and CNB | 28 (17%) |
| VAE 1 round only | 54 (32%) |
| VAE 2 rounds only | 73 (43%) |
| VAE 3 rounds | 42 (25%) |
| Surgery | 13 (7.7%) |
| 24-month follow-up | 133 (79%) |
| n, (%) | Upgraded | Downgraded | Unchanged | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal tissue | 10 (14%) | 8 (80%) | − | 2 (20%) |
| Fibroadenosis | 11 (15%) | 2 (18%) | − | 9 (82%) |
| Papillary formations | 40 (56%) | 5 (13%) | 5 (13%) | 30 (74%) |
| Atypia | 10 (14%) | 2 (20%) | 5 (50%) | 3 (30%) |
| n (%) | Upgraded | Downgraded | Unchanged | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B1 | 8 (6%) | 5 (62%) | − | 3 (38%) |
| B2 | 37 (29%) | 5 (13%) | 1 (3%) | 31 (84%) |
| B3 | ||||
| Papillomas | 51(40%) | 4 (8%) | 4 (8%) | 43 (84%) |
| Radial scar/complex lesion | 6 (5%) | 1 (17%) | 3 (50%) | 2 (33%) |
| ADH | 12 (9%) | 2 (17%) | 6 (50%) | 4 (33%) |
| Low-grade LN | 5 (4%) | 1 (20%) | − | 4 (80%) |
| FEA | 4 (3%) | − | 3 (75%) | 1 (25%) |
| Myofibroblastoma | 1 (1%) | − | − | 1 (100%) |
| B5 (DCIS I) | 2 (2%) | 1 (50%) | 1 (50%) | − |
| Comparison Between 1st and 2nd Round | Comparison Between 1st and 3nd Round | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round | Diagnosis | n (%) | Round | Diagnosis | n (%) |
| 1st | B1 | 16 | 1st | B1 | 4 |
| 2nd | Unchanged/Normal tissue | 10 (63%) | 3rd | Unchanged/Normal tissue | 2 (50%) |
| Upgraded | 6 (37%) | Upgraded | 2 (50%) | ||
| 1st | B2 | 32 | 1st | B2 | 11 |
| 2nd | Unchanged/Normal tissue | 31 (97%) | 3rd | Unchanged/Normal tissue | 11 (100%) |
| Upgraded | 1 (3%) | Upgraded | 0 | ||
| 1st | B3 | 53 | 1st | B3 | 21 |
| 2nd | Unchanged/Normal tissue | 52 (98%) | 3rd | Unchanged/Normal tissue | 21 (100%) |
| Upgraded | 1 (2%) | Upgraded | 0 | ||
| 1st | B5 | 3 | 1st | B5 | 2 |
| 2nd | Unchanged/Normal tissue | 3 (100%) | 3rd | Unchanged/Normal tissue | 2 (100%) |
| VAE Diagnosis | Postop Diagnosis | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Radial scar/complex lesion | Radial scar/complex lesion | Unchanged |
| Invasive carcinoma | Invasive carcinoma | Unchanged |
| Invasive carcinoma | Invasive carcinoma | Unchanged |
| Invasive carcinoma | Scar tissue | Downgraded/normal |
| Fibroadenoma | Fibroadenoma | Unchanged |
| DCIS II | Invasive carcinoma | Unchanged |
| DCIS I | DCIS III | Unchanged |
| DCIS I | DCIS I | Unchanged |
| DCIS I | Scar tissue | Downgraded/normal |
| Papilloma without atypia | LN | Unchanged |
| Papilloma without atypia | Papilloma without atypia | Unchanged |
| ADH | DCIS II | Upgraded |
| Adenomyolipoma | Scar tissue | Downgraded/normal |
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Zouzos, A.; Fredriksson, I.; Foukakis, T.; Hartman, J.; Strand, F. Variation in Pathological Appearance Across Repeated Sampling from Probably Benign Breast Lesions. Biomedicines 2025, 13, 2897. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines13122897
Zouzos A, Fredriksson I, Foukakis T, Hartman J, Strand F. Variation in Pathological Appearance Across Repeated Sampling from Probably Benign Breast Lesions. Biomedicines. 2025; 13(12):2897. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines13122897
Chicago/Turabian StyleZouzos, Athanasios, Irma Fredriksson, Theodoros Foukakis, Johan Hartman, and Fredrik Strand. 2025. "Variation in Pathological Appearance Across Repeated Sampling from Probably Benign Breast Lesions" Biomedicines 13, no. 12: 2897. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines13122897
APA StyleZouzos, A., Fredriksson, I., Foukakis, T., Hartman, J., & Strand, F. (2025). Variation in Pathological Appearance Across Repeated Sampling from Probably Benign Breast Lesions. Biomedicines, 13(12), 2897. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines13122897

