Treatment and Outcome of 341 Papillary Breast Lesions

Papillary breast lesions constitute a pathological heterogeneous group and display diverse clinical and imaging features. This study was conducted to analyze the upgrade rate of intraductal papilloma diagnosed on core needle biopsy and to assess the possible risk factors associated with upgrade to higher-risk lesions. We also examined the long-term outcomes in patients who received resection of the papillary lesions.

The clinical and pathology records of 324 female patients who were diagnosed with papillary lesions based on core needle biopsy (CNB) from February 2010 to October 2016 at our institution were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were grouped by initial diagnosis into two groups (papilloma with or without atypia) and followed-up for long-term outcomes. For the upgrade to higher-risk lesions after excision, upgraded lesions were compared with benign papillomas for the collected variables.

A total of 341 lesions were included for final analysis, and all were available for follow-up. Papillomas with or without atypia diagnosed by CNB were found in 9 and 332 lesions, respectively. Papillomas without atypia on CNB were treated by open excision (n = 265) or vacuum-assisted biopsy (VAB) (n = 67), which yielded similar event-free rate (p = 0.19). The upgrade rate of this group to higher-risk lesions was 9.9%. Peripheral (p = 0.011) lesions in postmenopausal (p = 0.001) or older (p = 0.001) patients with papillomas without atypia based on CNB showed significantly higher upgrade rates. Papillomas with atypia on CNB were all managed by open excision, and concurrent malignancy was found in two lesions.

In conclusion, our results support benign papillary lesions based on CNB require further treatment. Peripheral lesions occurring in older or postmenopausal women are at higher risk for upgrade.