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Peritumoral edema as a biomarker of the aggressiveness of breast cancer: results of a retrospective study on a 3 T scanner

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Abstract

Purpose

To determine whether there is a correlation between the presence of peritumoral edema detected on T2-weighted sequences and pathological prognostic factors and specific biological subtypes of breast cancer.

Methods

A retrospective study on 120 women with invasive breast cancer, who underwent breast MRI on a 3 T scanner over a period of 12 months, was performed. Peritumoral edema was assessed visually by two breast radiologist in consensus and patients were consequently divided into two groups. For each lesion dimensions, histology and molecular profiling were evaluated. The comparison between the two groups was performed using the χ2 test, subsequently carrying out a univariate and a multivariate logistic regression analysis.

Results

41 (34.2%) invasive breast cancers with perilesional edema and 79 (65.8%) without edema were identified. A significant association between the presence of perilesional edema and a larger lesion size (p = 0.0001), grade 3 (p < 0.001) and a higher Ki-67 index (p < 0.001) was found. The multivariate analysis confirmed that a larger tumor size is independently associated with peritumoral edema. A total of 101 (84.2%) luminal-like, 8 (6.7%) HER2-positive, and 11 (9.2%) triple-negative tumors were included in the study. Peritumoral edema turned out to be less frequently associated with luminal-like lesions (p < 0.001), while the luminal A status was found to have a significant association with the absence of peritumoral edema in the univariate analysis.

Conclusion

The detection of peritumoral edema on T2-weighted sequences should be considered as a valid additional prognostic tool in the evaluation of breast cancer, since it is associated with biologically aggressive non-luminal breast cancers, characterized by large dimension, high tumor grade, and high Ki-67 values.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiological, Oncological and Pathological Sciences, Sapienza, University of Rome, Policlinico Umberto I, Viale Regina Elena 324, 00161, Rome, Italy

    Giovanna Panzironi, Giuliana Moffa, Francesca Galati, Flaminia Marzocca, Veronica Rizzo & Federica Pediconi

  2. UOC Diagnostica Per Immagini, Ospedale Sandro Pertini, Via dei Monti Tiburtini 385, 00157, Rome, Italy

    Giovanna Panzironi

Authors
  1. Giovanna Panzironi
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  2. Giuliana Moffa
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  3. Francesca Galati
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  4. Flaminia Marzocca
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  5. Veronica Rizzo
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  6. Federica Pediconi
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Correspondence to Giovanna Panzironi.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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The study was approved by the local institutional review board, and the requirement for informed consent was waived because of the retrospective nature of this study.

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Panzironi, G., Moffa, G., Galati, F. et al. Peritumoral edema as a biomarker of the aggressiveness of breast cancer: results of a retrospective study on a 3 T scanner. Breast Cancer Res Treat 181, 53–60 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-020-05592-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-020-05592-8

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