scholarly journals Pros and Cons for Automated Breast Ultrasound (ABUS): A Narrative Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 703
Author(s):  
Ioana Boca (Bene) ◽  
Anca Ileana Ciurea ◽  
Cristiana Augusta Ciortea ◽  
Sorin Marian Dudea

Automated breast ultrasound (ABUS) is an ultrasound technique that tends to be increasingly used as a supplementary technique in the evaluation of patients with dense glandular breasts. Patients with dense breasts have an increased risk of developing breast cancer compared to patients with fatty breasts. Furthermore, for this group of patients, mammography has a low sensitivity in detecting breast cancers, especially if it is not associated with architectural distortion or calcifications. ABUS is a standardized examination with many advantages in both screening and diagnostic settings: it increases the detection rate of breast cancer, improves the workflow, and reduces the examination time. On the other hand, like any imaging technique, ABUS has disadvantages and even some limitations. Many disadvantages can be diminished by additional attention and training. Disadvantages regarding image acquisition are the inability to assess the axilla, the vascularization, and the elasticity of a lesion, while concerning the interpretation, the disadvantages are the artifacts due to poor positioning, lack of contact, motion or lesion related. This article reviews and discusses the indications, the advantages, and disadvantages of the method and also the sources of error in the ABUS examination.

Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 2506
Author(s):  
Mark van Barele ◽  
Bernadette A. M. Heemskerk-Gerritsen ◽  
Yvonne V. Louwers ◽  
Mijntje B. Vastbinder ◽  
John W. M. Martens ◽  
...  

Triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC) occur more frequently in younger women and do not express estrogen receptor (ER) nor progesterone receptor (PR), and are therefore often considered hormone-insensitive. Treatment of premenopausal TNBC patients almost always includes chemotherapy, which may lead to premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) and can severely impact quality of life. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is contraindicated for patients with a history of hormone-sensitive breast cancer, but the data on safety for TNBC patients is inconclusive, with a few randomized trials showing increased risk-ratios with wide confidence intervals for recurrence after HRT. Here, we review the literature on alternative pathways from the classical ER/PR. We find that for both estrogens and progestogens, potential alternatives exist for exerting their effects on TNBC, ranging from receptor conversion, to alternative receptors capable of binding estrogens, as well as paracrine pathways, such as RANK/RANKL, which can cause progestogens to indirectly stimulate growth and metastasis of TNBC. Finally, HRT may also influence other hormones, such as androgens, and their effects on TNBCs expressing androgen receptors (AR). Concluding, the assumption that TNBC is completely hormone-insensitive is incorrect. However, the direction of the effects of the alternative pathways is not always clear, and will need to be investigated further.


2016 ◽  
Vol 58 (5) ◽  
pp. 515-520 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roxanna Hellgren ◽  
Paul Dickman ◽  
Karin Leifland ◽  
Ariel Saracco ◽  
Per Hall ◽  
...  

Background Automated breast volume scanner (ABVS) is an ultrasound (US) device with a wide scanner that sweeps over a large area of the breast and the acquired transverse images are sent to a workstation for reconstruction and review. Whether ABVS is as reliable as handheld US is, however, still not established. Purpose To compare the sensitivity and specificity of ABVS to handheld breast US for detection of breast cancer, in the situation of recall after mammography screening. Material and Methods A total of 113 women, five with bilateral suspicious findings, undergoing handheld breast US due to a suspicious mammographic finding in screening, underwent additional ABVS. The methods were assessed for each breast and each detected lesion separately and classified into two categories: breasts with mammographic suspicion of malignancy and breasts with a negative mammogram. Results Twenty-six cancers were found in 25 women. In the category of breasts with a suspicious mammographic finding (n = 118), the sensitivity of both handheld US and ABVS was 88% (22/25). The specificity of handheld US was 93.5% (87/93) and ABVS was 89.2% (83/93). In the category of breasts with a negative mammography (n = 103), the sensitivity of handheld US and ABVS was 100% (1/1). The specificity of handheld US was 100% (102/102) and ABVS was 94.1% (96/102). Conclusion ABVS can potentially replace handheld US in the investigation of women recalled from mammography screening due to a suspicious finding. Due to the small size of our study population, further investigation with larger study populations is necessary before the implementation of such practice.


2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayca Gucalp ◽  
Tiffany A. Traina

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), a subtype distinguished by negative immunohistochemical assays for expression of the estrogen and progesterone receptors (ER/PR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2(HER2) represents 15% of all breast cancers. Patients with TNBC generally experience a more aggressive clinical course with increased risk of disease progression and poorer overall survival. Furthermore, this subtype accounts for a disproportionate number of disease-related mortality in part due to its aggressive natural history and our lack of effective targeted agents beyond conventional cytotoxic chemotherapy. In this paper, we will review the epidemiology, risk factors, prognosis, and the molecular and clinicopathologic features that distinguish TNBC from other subtypes of breast cancer. In addition, we will examine the available data for the use of cytotoxic chemotherapy in the treatment of TNBC in both the neoadjuvant and adjuvant setting and explore the ongoing development of newer targeted agents.


2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 200
Author(s):  
Anca Ileana Ciurea ◽  
Ioana Boca ◽  
Liliana Rogojan ◽  
Larisa Dorina Ciule ◽  
Cristiana Augusta Ciortea

Metastases to the skeletal muscle from breast cancer represent an unusual and rare condition. We present the case of a 27-year-old female with left breast cancer (IDC NST G3) who underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by conservativesurgery (sectorectomy and lymphadenectomy) and radiation therapy. Two months after the end of radiotherapy she presented with a 2 mm skin lesion and she was referred for a screening ultrasound. The screening automated breast ultrasound (ABUS) revealed local recurrence and pectoralis metastases, lesions evaluated also by magnetic resonance imaging. The diagnosis was confirmed by the ultrasound-guided biopsy.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa Min-Szu Yao ◽  
Hao Du ◽  
Mikael Hartman ◽  
Wing P. Chan ◽  
Mengling Feng

UNSTRUCTURED Purpose: To develop a novel artificial intelligence (AI) model algorithm focusing on automatic detection and classification of various patterns of calcification distribution in mammographic images using a unique graph convolution approach. Materials and methods: Images from 200 patients classified as Category 4 or 5 according to the American College of Radiology Breast Imaging Reporting and Database System, which showed calcifications according to the mammographic reports and diagnosed breast cancers. The calcification distributions were classified as either diffuse, segmental, regional, grouped, or linear. Excluded were mammograms with (1) breast cancer as a single or combined characterization such as a mass, asymmetry, or architectural distortion with or without calcifications; (2) hidden calcifications that were difficult to mark; or (3) incomplete medical records. Results: A graph convolutional network-based model was developed. 401 mammographic images from 200 cases of breast cancer were divided based on calcification distribution pattern: diffuse (n = 24), regional (n = 111), group (n = 201), linear (n = 8) or segmental (n = 57). The classification performances were measured using metrics including precision, recall, F1 score, accuracy and multi-class area under receiver operating characteristic curve. The proposed achieved precision of 0.483 ± 0.015, sensitivity of 0.606 (0.030), specificity of 0.862 ± 0.018, F1 score of 0.527 ± 0.035, accuracy of 60.642% ± 3.040% and area under the curve of 0.754 ± 0.019, finding method to be superior compared to all baseline models. The predicted linear and diffuse classifications were highly similar to the ground truth, and the predicted grouped and regional classifications were also superior compared to baseline models. Conclusion: The proposed deep neural network framework is an AI solution to automatically detect and classify calcification distribution patterns on mammographic images highly suspected of showing breast cancers. Further study of the AI model in an actual clinical setting and additional data collection will improve its performance.


Author(s):  
Preeti Chauhan ◽  
Arockia M Babu ◽  
Palki sahib kaur ◽  
vikas Menon

Breast cancer is a heterogeneous group of tumours with variable prognosis. It is the second leading cause of cancer related death among women.Hereditary breast cancers (HBC) showed around ten percent of the total burden of breast cancer. Most of the breast cancer cases found due to a BRCA germ line mutation. According to estimation, 15–20% breast cancer patients to have one or more 1st or 2nd degree relatives affected with breast cancer. The factors included the genotypic and phenotypic heterogeneity. Many studies found association of HBC with different carcinoma syndromes. The most common association is with ovarian carcinoma so known as hereditary breast ovarian (BO) carcinoma syndrome involving BRCA1 and 2 mutations. Some other factors like reproductive risk factors including age at diagnosis of breast cancer, pregnancy history, and twin history were also studied and were found associated with breast cancer risk. In this review it is reported that knowledge of genetics of hereditary breast cancers may contribute to identification of patient’s increased risk of disease. These patients could be subjected to genetic counseling that can be definitely benefited from early diagnosis.


2007 ◽  
Vol 25 (18_suppl) ◽  
pp. 526-526 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. J. Goldstein ◽  
R. Gray ◽  
B. H. Childs ◽  
D. Watson ◽  
S. G. Rowley ◽  
...  

526 Background: Evidence suggests modern chemotherapy (CT) regimens are only marginally more effective in HR-pos breast cancer (Berry et al. JAMA 2006: 295: 1658). Genomic classifiers may be useful for selection of high-risk subjects for more aggressive CHT. Methods: A case-cohort sample of 776 patients enrolled on E2197 who did (N=179) or did not have a recurrence after CT (if HR-neg) or CHT (if HR-pos) and had available tissue were evaluated for Oncotype DX™ Recurrence Score (RS). E2197 included 2885 evaluable patients with 0–3 positive nodes treated with four 3-week cycles of doxorubicin (60 mg/m2) plus cyclophosphamide 600 mg/m2 (AC) or docetaxel 60 mg/m2 (AT) and hormonal therapy (if HR-pos). Median follow-up was 76 months. Results: There was no difference in DFS between treatment arms. In multivariate analysis, RS was a significant predictor of recurrence in HR-pos disease (p=0.0007, recurrence risk 21% lower for each 10 point drop in RS, 95% confidence intervals 9% to 31%). Recurrence risk was significantly elevated for an intermediate RS 18–30 (n=138, hazard ratio [HR] 2.96 [p=0.0002]) or a high RS ≥ 31 (n=108, HR 4.00, p=0.0001) compared with low RS < 18(n=196), but not for high compared with intermediate RS (HR 1.34, [p=0.32]); results were similar if only HER2-neg disease was included. The 5-year relapse free interval(RFI), breast cancer free survival (BCFS), disease-free survival (DFS), and overall survival (OS) for patients with HR-pos, HER2-neg disease are shown below (%); patients with both node-neg or node-pos breast cancers whose RS was < 18 had excellent outcomes. Conclusions: Oncotype DX™ RS identifies individuals with HR-pos, HER2-neg breast cancer with 0–3 positive axillary lymph nodes at 3–4-fold increased risk of relapse despite standard CHT, and may serve as a means to distinguish between those who do well with standard CHT (RS <18) from those who may be suitable candidates for clinical trials evaluating alternative CT regimens or other strategies (RS ≥ 18). [Table: see text] [Table: see text]


2013 ◽  
Vol 31 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e11576-e11576
Author(s):  
Anastasios L. Boutis ◽  
Sofia Chatzileontiadou ◽  
Nikolaos Diamantopoulos ◽  
Athanasios Pouptsis ◽  
Chariklia Fotiou

e11576 Background: Overexpression of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) occurring in about 20% of breast cancers is associated with increased risk of disease recurrence and worse prognosis. Despite the advent of therapies that target HER2, particularly, trastuzumab and lapatinib, that have altered the natural course of HER2-positive advanced breast cancer, tumor progression remains inevitable. New agents are in clinical development, but up to date there are limited data to direct the treatment of patients after lapatinib progression. Methods: We retrospectively searched for HER2-positive advanced breast cancer patients treated at our clinic, who received both trastuzumab-based therapy and lapatinib upon trastuzumab-progression in the metastatic setting. Thirty patients, all female, suffering from HER2-positive advanced breast cancer were identified. HER-2 positivity was assessed by immunohistochemistry (IHC 3+) or chromogenic in situ hybridization (CISH+). Results: Of the 30 patients, 83.3% had invasive ductal carcinoma; 60% had positive hormone receptor status, and 80% grade 3 tumours. Half of the patients received adjuvant trastuzumab. Median age was 57 years, range 37-79 years. 36.6% were switched to lapatinib after a median of three (range 2-6 lines) trastuzumab-based treatment lines. In 8 pts (37.5%) trastuzumab was re-started after lapatinib progression. In 7 of these patients, trastuzumab was combined with chemotherapy. Median progression free survival and overall survival in these patients was 4.75 and 8.87 months respectively. 3 patients received bevacizumab-based therapy upon lapatinib failure. Conclusions: Trastuzumab rechallenge after lapatinib progression may be active in a subgroup of heavily pre-treated patients. Clinical benefit of this strategy has to be balanced especially in limited resource settings with unavailability of novel agents or early phase clinical trials. As of now, there is no uniform accepted standard to define the optimal treatment approach of patients upon lapatinib progression showing the real need for new therapies in this population.


2013 ◽  
Vol 70 (11) ◽  
pp. 1034-1038
Author(s):  
Ana Jankovic ◽  
Mirjan Nadrljanski ◽  
Vesna Plesinac-Karapandzic ◽  
Nebojsa Ivanovic ◽  
Zoran Radojicic ◽  
...  

Background/Aim. Posterior breast cancers are located in the prepectoral region of the breast. Owing to this distinctive anatomical localization, physical examination and mammographic or ultrasonographic evaluation can be difficult. The purpose of the study was to assess possibilities of diagnostic mammography and breast ultrasonography in detection and differentiation of posterior breast cancers. Methods. The study included 40 women with palpable, histopathological confirmed posterior breast cancer. Mammographic and ultrasonographic features were defined according to Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) lexicon. Results. Based on standard two-view mammography 87.5%, of the cases were classified as BI-RADS 4 and 5 categories, while after additional mammographic views all the cases were defined as BIRADS 4 and 5 categories. Among 96 mammographic descriptors, the most frequent were: spiculated mass (24.0%), architectural distortion (16.7%), clustered microcalcifications (12.6%) and focal asymmetric density (12.6%). The differentiation of the spiculated mass was significantly associated with the possibility to visualize the lesion at two-view mammography (p = 0.009), without the association with lesion diameter (p = 0.083) or histopathological type (p = 0.055). Mammographic signs of invasive lobular carcinoma were significantly different from other histopathological types (architectural distortion, p = 0.003; focal asymmetric density, p = 0.019; association of four or five subtle signs of malignancy, p = 0.006). All cancers were detectable by ultrasonography. Mass lesions were found in 82.0% of the cases. Among 153 ultrasonographic descriptors, the most frequent were: irregular mass (15.7%), lobulated mass (7.2%), abnormal color Doppler signals (20.3%), posterior acoustic attenuation (18.3%). Ultrasonographic BI-RADS 4 and 5 categories were defined in 72.5% of the cases, without a significant difference among various histopathological types (p = 0.109). Conclusion. Standard two-view mammography followed by additional mammographic projections is an effective way to demonstrate the spiculated mass and to classify the prepectoral lesion as category BI-RADS 4 or 5. Additional ultrasonography can overcome the mimicry of invasive lobular breast carcinoma at mammography.


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