Why the study?
Primary breast angiosarcoma is a rare malignancy characterized by non-specific clinical and radiological findings.
Does pre-surgical MRI improve accurate tumour characterization and diagnosis in patients with suspected primary breast angiosarcoma?
Does pre-surgical MRI improve accurate tumour characterization and diagnosis in patients with suspected primary breast angiosarcoma?
MRI is an important imaging modality for the early and accurate diagnosis of primary breast angiosarcoma, potentially preventing diagnostic delay.
MRI may aid characterization of suspected breast angiosarcoma; leaves open whether pre-surgical imaging improves diagnostic accuracy.
BACKGROUND: Primary breast angiosarcoma is a rare malignancy with non-specific clinical and radiological findings. CASE REPORT: A 30-year-old lady presented with left breast pain and lumpiness for over one year. She has had several breast ultrasounds (US) and was treated for acute mastitis and abscess. Subsequently, in view of the rapid growth of the lump and worsening pain, she was re-investigated with US, elastography, digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) and MRI. MRI raised the suspicion of angiosarcoma. The diagnosis was confirmed after biopsy and she underwent mastectomy. DISCUSSION: Literature review on imaging findings of breast angiosarcoma, especially on MRI, is discussed. MRI features showed heterogeneous low signal intensity on T1 and high signal intensity on T2. Dynamic contrast enhancement (DCE) features included either early enhancement with or without washout in the delayed phase, and some reported central areas of non-enhancement. CONCLUSION: This case report emphasises on the importance of MRI in clinching the diagnosis of breast angiosarcoma, and hence, should be offered sooner to prevent diagnostic delay.
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Mumin et al. (2020) studied this question.
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