Stereotactic Biopsy of Segmental Breast Calcifications: Is Sampling of Anterior and Posterior Components Necessary?

Core needle biopsy results of segmental calcifications on mammography can have direct impact on surgical management. Although dependent on breast size, cancer spanning greater than 5 cm is usually treated with mastectomy, and cancer less than 5 cm is managed with lumpectomy. Approach to stereotactic biopsy of morphologically similar segmental calcifications that span more than 5 cm on mammography varies geographically and is currently largely based on preference of the surgical or medical oncology colleagues. Some clinicians prefer biopsy of the anterior and posterior aspects of the abnormality, whereas others believe a single biopsy within the abnormality is adequate. There is insufficient data to support whether a single biopsy of calcifications is adequate to establish the need for mastectomy, or if pathology-proven cancer in the anterior and posterior components to define the extent of disease is required. This study aims to evaluate concordance rates of paired biopsies of suspicious segmental mammographic calcifications.

From a 5-year review of our imaging database, 32 subjects were identified with breast imaging reporting and data system (BI-RADS) 4 or 5 segmental calcifications on mammography who underwent anterior and posterior stereotactic biopsies. The paired biopsy results were independently analyzed for concordance on benign, high-risk, or malignant pathology.

Of the 32 cases, there was perfect agreement (32/32 cases = 100% concordance, 95% confidence interval = 89.3-100%) in anterior and posterior pairs in benign, high-risk, or malignant findings (kappa = 1, P < 0.001).

The absence of data on pathological concordance in anterior and posterior aspects of suspicious, morphologically similar, segmental calcifications spanning 5 cm or more has led to a varied clinical approach to stereotactic biopsy. The 100% rate of pathological concordance in our study suggests that a single biopsy is adequate for diagnosis and representative of the whole mammographic abnormality. Implementation of this approach will potentially reduce unnecessary biopsies and surgeries, minimize healthcare costs, and decrease patient morbidity.