Background: Recent studies suggest that desmoid tumors can be managed more conservatively rather than undergoing wide surgical resection (SR). Ultrasound-guided vacuum-assisted biopsy (UGVAB) is a minimally invasive technique. This retrospective study aimed to compare the outcome in patients with breast desmoid tumor (BDT) who received UGVAB alone versus SR.
Materials and methods: The pathology database was searched for patients diagnosed with BDT ≤ 3 cm from 2007 to 2019. All patients underwent breast ultrasound examination and were then performed UGVAB alone or local SR. The Kaplan-Meier method with a log-rank test was used as a univariate analysis to compare the relapse-free survival (RFS) rates between UGVAB and SR groups. Cox regression analysis was used for multivariate analysis.
Results: A total of 39 patients were included. The median follow-up was 41 mo (range, 5-110 mo). The incidence of tumor recurrence was 23.1% (9/39). The 3-y cumulative RFS was 83.1% and 95.8% in the UGVAB and SR group, respectively, which was not significantly different between the two groups (P = 0.131, log-rank test). Multivariate analysis also revealed that treatment strategy (UGVAB versus SR) was not associated with an increased risk of relapse events (P = 0.274).
Conclusions: Small desmoid tumors (≤3 cm) after UGVAB alone did not have a significantly compromised RFS compared with those who underwent SR. UGVAB may be an alternative and relatively conservative method for the diagnosis and local control of BDT with a smaller size. A prospective, randomized study with large sample size is needed to confirm this observation.
Keywords: Breast; Desmoid tumors; Surgery; Treatment; Ultrasound-guided vacuum-assisted biopsy.
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