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Updated: May 22, 2026
Ultrasonographic Evaluation of Breast Cancer-related Lymphedema
Published on: January 12, 2017
Outcome of breast lesions detected at screening ultrasonography
Seung Ja Kim1, Jung Min Chang, Nariya Cho
1Department of Radiology, Seoul Metropolitan Government Seoul National University, Seoul National University Hospital, Boramae Medical Center, 41, Boramae-gil, Dongjak-gu, Seoul 156-707, Republic of Korea. winnerkim89@gmail.com
Objective:
To assess the final outcome of breast lesions detected during screening ultrasonography (US) and categorized by BI-RADS final assessment.
Materials And Methods:
During a 1-year period, 3817 consecutive asymptomatic women with negative findings at both clinical breast examinations and mammography underwent bilateral whole breast US and BI-RADS categories were provided for US-detected breast lesions. The reference standard was a combination of histology and US follow-up (≥12 months), and the final outcomes of 1192 US-detected lesions were analyzed.
Results:
Of 904 category 2 lesions, 890 remained stable for 12-60 months. Biopsies of 14 lesions revealed no malignancies (NPV=100%). Of 247 category 3 lesions, 232 remained stable for 12-60 months. Biopsies of 15 lesions revealed 2 malignancies, which were diagnosed within 6 months of the index examination and were node negative (NPV=99.2%). Of 41 category 4 lesions, biopsies of 38 lesions revealed 5 malignancies (PPV=12.2%), and 3 remained stable for 37-51 months. No US-detected lesion was classified as category 5.
Conclusion:
The rates of malignancy for US-detected BI-RADS categories 2, 3, and 4 lesions were 0%, 0.8%, and 12.2%, respectively. The final assessment of US BI-RADS categorization showed it to be an appropriate predictor of malignancy for screening US-detected breast lesions.
