Breast cancer is the most common malignancy affecting women both in Poland and worldwide. A multifocal and/or multicentral neoplastic process is defined in approx. 5–12% of female patients (28,29,30). In our analysis, multifocality and multicentrality of the lesions were confirmed in 38 subjects (38/71, which is 53.5% of all the examined ones). The obtained results are extremely alarming, but unfortunately coincide with the results of other researchers who noticed the same trend at a similar time. Tot and colleagues found that 40% of breast carcinomas had a simple (unifocal) subgross morphology, while 60% had a complex morphology presenting with multifocal or diffuse components (31).
Surgery plays a fundamental role in treatment of breast cancer. According to the Senologic International Society (SIS) recommendations, approximately 70–80% of early breast cancer cases should be referred for breast-conserving therapy (32). However, it should be noted that accurate preoperative knowledge about the extent, size and location of neoplastic lesions is a necessary condition for proper surgical intervention.
The basic examinations for proper treatment qualification include mammography and ultrasonography (USG). The sensitivity of digital mammography in detecting multiple breast lesions depends on breast structure. The greater the content of glandular tissue, the lower sensitivity of mammography, which does not exceed approx. 60% in breasts with a predominance of glandular tissue. The insufficient sensitivity of mammography and ultrasonography in detecting additional breast cancer foci was raised by Bozzini et al. in 2008. The authors determined the sensitivity of mammography and ultrasonography for assessing additional cancer foci at the level of 45.5% and 52.9%, respectively (33). Unfortunately, despite the passage of time and the technological development, our results are similarly alarming– mammography failed to detect over 50% of additional cancer foci. In our analysis, the sensitivity of MG for detecting additional cancer foci was 42%. It seems that the glandular and adipose-gland structures of the breast and the tumor density similar to that of the surrounding glandular tissue resulted in such a low sensitivity in detecting additional cancer foci. tiDuring the re-evaluation there was no significant increase in the MG sensitivity. Similar results were presented by Bozzini et al. who found that the second-look MG assessment did not significantly increase the number of identified additional cancer foci [33].
After breast-conserving surgical therapy postoperative radiotherapy prevents recurrence of the disease both in terms of local recurrence and the formation of further foci of the malignant process. For about a decade, there has been a tendency to limit the irradiated area according to the APBI strategy (accelerated partial breast irradiation). Currently, according to ASTRO (American Society for Radiation Oncology) guidelines, such therapeutic methods are acceptable in patients over the age of 50 years, with postoperative margins following tumour resection measuring > 2 mm and staging Tis or T1N0. However, due to the possibility of leaving additional cancer foci outside the therapeutic area, a small minority of patients continue to receive this technique of radiation therapy, which significantly reduces radiation-induced skin reactions (34,35,36).
As it is almost impossible to exclude the presence of additional cancer foci on the basis of either mammography or ultrasonography it seems reasonable to use imaging techniques with higher sensitivity. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has documented higher sensitivity in detecting neoplastic lesions than both digital mammography (MG) and ultrasound (USG) [37, 38]. It was documented that even as much as 14%-16% of tumours visible on MRI may remain invisible on MG [39, 40].
In our analysis, the use of MRI in preoperative diagnostics resulted in a change in the treatment regimen in 24% of subjects. Our results are consistent with data obtained by other researchers – performing an MRI examination in breast cancer patients results in modifications of the treatment method in every fifth patient [41, 42]. Despite the evidence of frequent change of therapeutic decision after MRI examination in patients with breast cancer, this method still remains controversial in this group of patients. Indeed, in a multicenter clinical trial, the authors of "COMICE" did not prove the unequivocal benefits of using MRI in the diagnosis of breast cancer. The patients in COMICE trial were mostly post-menopausal women with ACR BI-RADS group 2 and only 9% of them had the luminal type breast cancer. The authors showed a higher percentage of multifocal and multicenter tumors in the MRI group, but this difference was neither analysed nor discussed. Moreover, most of reoperations were performed due to the non-radical nature of previously performed ones. [43]. The authors of MONET trial did not also demonstrate any benefits of using preoperative MRI examination. This was probably because the study was aimed at the diagnosis of non-palpable breast tumours in which there are small and very diverse clinical stages of cancers. Of note, patients after MRI examination were characterized by increased re-excision rate [44]. It should be noted, however, that the COMICE trial included centres without the possibility MRI-guided biopsy. As a result, some of the patients underwent surgery without prior histopathological assessment of the visible foci. In addition, the radiologists’ experience was much less than it is now, as this method was relatively new. Finally, there was no standard MRI protocol for all centres.
In our analysis, the sensitivity of MRI for detecting additional cancer foci was 94.7%. The decision to change the scope of surgery from conserving treatment to mastectomy was made in every fourth women (24%), after core needle biopsy of the revealed lesion. It is worth noting that the radiologists in our centre have at least 10 years’ experience in both performing and evaluating MRI, moreover all suspected foci were additionally verified by core needle biopsy.
According to EUSOMA guidelines by (Magnetic resonance imaging of the breast: Recommendations from the EUSOMA working group) the MRI examination is currently recommended in the following clinical situations: a newly diagnosed lobular breast carcinoma confirmed by breast biopsy, patients with genetically detected mutation, and patients under the age of 60 years who manifest discrepancy of more than 1 cm in the tumour’s size between MG and USG [45]. On the contrary, there is no recommendation for the use of CESM. It seems to be incomprehensible, as contrast-enhanced spectral mammography is highly sensitive in detecting breast cancer – comparable to that of MRI. Moreover, the tumours dimensions in CESM correlate well with histopathological examinations, the cost of CESM is lower than that of MRI, and finally, the time needed to perform and interpret the results is less than with MRI [46, 47]. In our CESM analysis, 3 patients had false-positive results, but in MRI examination there were 2 false positive ones. However, it should be noted that a preoperative core needle biopsy revealed atypical intraductal hyperplasia in these cases.
The use of CESM and MRI allows to achieve better results in the diagnosis of MFMCC compared to MG and significantly influences the surgical decisions made. Accurate breast imaging and visualisation of additional cancer foci may, in the future, reduce the volume of postoperative breast radiotherapy after conserving treatment in a much larger group of patients. Such a procedure will allow to reduce the number of complications in patients, and also significantly reduce the treatment costs.
Our study has some limitations, first is associated with relatively small group of patients. This is due to the fact that not all patients diagnosed with breast cancer and qualified for surgery had an MRI scan. MRI was only used in those patients who met EUSOMA recommendations.