Changes in breast cancer grade from biopsy to excision following surgery or primary chemotherapy

To compare histological grade (G) of breast cancer and its components (scores for tubule formation - T, nuclear pleomorphism - P and mitotic counts - M) in core needle biopsies (CNBs) and surgical excision specimens (EXC) in patients treated with primary surgery (CHIR) or primary chemotherapy (PST).

Grade of matched pairs of carcinomas in CNB and EXC was assessed according to the Nottingham grading system.

PST cases tended to have higher pretreatment G. Concordance rates in the CHIR (n = 760) and PST (n = 148) groups for T, P, M and G were 79%, 70%, 75%, 71% and 77%, 70%, 50%, 62%, respectively; differences in concordance rates were significant in M (p < 0.0001) and G (p = 0.024). For discordant cases in the CHIR group, CNBs tended to overestimate T and underestimate P, M and G, whereas in the PST group, the same trends were identified for T and P, but there was a significant tendency for M and G to be lower in EXC specimens.

The reversal of M and G underestimation in CNB to "overestimation" in the PST group can only be explained with the effect of mitosis reduction following chemotherapy. Whether the posttreatment decrease in G reflects any prognostic value remains to be elucidated.