Objective: Fibroadenomas (FAs) involved by atypia are rare. Consensus guidelines for management of FAs involved by atypia when diagnosed on image-guided biopsy do not exist because of limited data reporting surgical upgrade rates to ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) or invasive malignancy. Therefore, these lesions commonly undergo surgical excision.
Methods: This single-institution retrospective study identified cases of FAs involved by atypical ductal hyperplasia (ADH), atypical lobular hyperplasia (ALH), and/or lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) diagnosed on image-guided biopsy between January 2014 and April 2023 to determine upgrade rates. Cases with incidental atypia adjacent to but not involving FAs were excluded.
Results: Among 1736 FAs diagnosed on image-guided biopsy, 32 cases (1.8%) were FAs involved by atypia including 43.8% (14/32) ALH, 28.1% (9/32) ADH, 18.8% (6/32) LCIS, 6.3% (2/32) LCIS + ALH, and 3.1% (1/32) unspecified atypia. The most common imaging finding was a mass. Most cases, 81.3% (26/32), underwent subsequent surgical excisional biopsy. A single case of ADH involving and adjacent to an FA was upgraded to FA involved by low-grade DCIS on excision for an overall surgical upgrade rate of 3.8%. There were no cases upgraded to invasive malignancy. For those omitting surgical excision, there was no subsequent malignancy diagnosis at the FA biopsy site over a mean follow-up of 73 months.
Conclusion: Cases of radiologic-pathologic concordant FAs involved by atypia have a low upgrade rate of 3.8% and should undergo multidisciplinary review. Larger multi-institutional analysis is needed to determine whether guidelines for excision of atypia should apply to atypia involving FAs.
Keywords: atypical ductal hyperplasia; fibroadenoma; high-risk lesion; lobular neoplasia; upgrade.
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