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Updated: Jul 3, 2026
Single-Port Robotic-assisted Transaxillary Breast-conserving Surgery: A Prospective, Single-arm, Non-randomized Phase IIa Clinical Trial
Published on: August 19, 2025
The validity of complex breast cysts after surgery
Muy-Kheng M Tea1, Christoph Grimm, Anneliese Fink-Retter
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Senology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria. muy-kheng.tea@meduniwien.ac.at
Background:
Breast cysts are the most common cause of benign breast masses. Simple breast cysts do not need further evaluation, but complex breast cysts require additional assessment due to the potential presence of malignancy. However, these complex cysts have rarely been examined and quantified according to the associated cancer detection rate. Our study is the first investigation to evaluate the malignancy rate of complex breast cysts identified by histopathological results.
Methods:
Imaging findings of complex cysts were correlated retrospectively with clinical and pathologic outcomes. We detected a malignancy rate of 14%. Sonographic criteria of a complex cyst such as thick cyst wall (P = .0006), lobulation (P = .01), and hyperechogenicity (P = .04) were predictive of neoplasm. Two or more criteria combined were associated with a 13.6-fold higher risk of malignancy (P <.0001).
Conclusion:
Based on our results we reinforce the importance of adequate assessment of complex breast cysts to prevent a missed or delayed diagnosis of malignancy.
