Purpose: To evaluate imaging features of pure lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients who underwent immediate re-excision after lumpectomy.
Methods: Twenty-six patients (46.1±6.7 years) with 28 pure LCIS lesions, who underwent preoperative MRI and received curative surgery at our institution between 2005 and 2013, were included in this study. Clinicopathologic features associated with immediate re-excision were reviewed and analyzed using Fisher exact test or the Wilcoxon signed rank test.
Results: Of the 28 lesions, 21.4% (6/28, six patients) were subjected to immediate re-excision due to resection margin involvement by LCIS. Nonmass lesions and moderate-to-marked background parenchymal enhancement on MRI were more frequently found in the re-excision group than in the single operation group (100% [6/6] vs. 40.9% [9/22], p=0.018; 83.3% [5/6] vs. 31.8% [7/22], p=0.057, respectively). The median lesion size discrepancy observed between magnetic resonance images and histopathology was greater in the re-excision group than in the single operation group (-0.82 vs. 0.13, p=0.018). There were no differences in the mammographic or histopathologic findings between the two groups.
Conclusion: Nonmass LCIS lesions or moderate-to-marked background parenchymal enhancements on MRI can result in an underestimation of the extent of the lesions and are associated with subsequent re-excision due to resection margin involvement.
Keywords: Breast neoplasms; Carcinoma in situ; Magnetic resonance imaging.