Clinical significance of multidetector-row computed tomography in breast surgery

Several reports support the association of higher ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence rates with positive or intermediate margins compared with negative pathologic margins. Precise evaluation of tumor extension and adequate surgical margin are important factors affecting tumor recurrence after breast-conserving surgery (BCS). Many studies have reported the utility of magnetic resonance imaging for diagnosing the tumor extension of breast cancer, but few have evaluated the utility of multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT). The results of this study show the clinical significance of MDCT for detecting cancer extension and demonstrate the clinical role of MDCT in BCS. Subjects comprised 136 patients grouped into two categories based on whether or not tumor extension was evaluated with MDCT preoperatively. The positive surgical margin rate and breast conservation rate were analyzed in each group, and the clinical role of MDCT in BCS was evaluated. Moreover, evaluation of intraductal extension was done both with MDCT and histologically, and computed tomography–pathologic correlations were examined retrospectively. Finally, the margin-positive cases were analyzed in relation to their clinical characteristics. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value for detection of the intraductal component were 71.8%, 85.7%, 82.1%, and 76.9%, respectively. The positive surgical margin rate and conservation rate are 7.46% and 81.9%, respectively, for those who were diagnosed with MDCT preoperatively; their corresponding rates without MDCT were 16.67% and 67.9%. Most margin-positive patients have remarkable lymphatic space invasion. Positive surgical margins were often recognized toward the nipple. For diagnosing the intraductal extension, MDCT shows sufficient diagnosability. Moreover, MDCT can provide appropriate information for the determination of adequate surgical margins and contribute to increases in breast conservation rates.