Development and Validation of a Prediction Model for Positive Margins in Breast-Conserving Surgery

The chances of second surgery due to positive margins in patients receiving breast-conversing surgery (BCS) were about 20-40%. This study aims to develop and validate a nomogram to predict the status of breast-conserving margins.

The database identified patients with core needle biopsy-proven ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) or invasive breast carcinoma who underwent BCS in Shanxi Bethune Hospital between January 1, 2015 and December 31, 2021 (n = 573). The patients were divided into two models: (1) The first model consists of 398 patients who underwent BCS between 2015 and 2019; (2) The validation model consists of 175 patients who underwent BCS between 2020 and 2021. The development of the nomogram was based on the findings of multivariate logistic regression analysis. Discrimination was assessed by computing the C-index. The Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test was used to validate the calibration performance.

The final multivariate regression model was developed as a nomogram, including blood flow signals (OR = 2.88, p = 0.001), grade (OR = 2.46, p = 0.002), microcalcifications (OR = 2.39, p = 0.003), tumor size in ultrasound (OR = 2.12, p = 0.011) and cerbB-2 status (OR = 1.99, p = 0.042). C-indices were calculated of 0.71 (95% CI: 0.64-0.78) and 0.68 (95% CI: 0.59-0.78) for the modeling and the validation group, respectively. The calibration of the model was considered adequate in the validation group (p > 0.05).

We developed a nomogram that enables the estimation of the preoperative risk of positive BCS margins. Our nomogram provides a valuable tool for identifying high-risk patients who might have to undergo a wider excision.