Abstract P1-10-04: Post-operative imaging after atypical ductal hyperplasia excision: The findings and costs
Authors: Plichta Jennifer K , Cobb Adrienne N , Abood Gerard J , Godellas Constantine , Perez Claudia B 
Published: May 2015

Introduction: With a reported incidence of 2-12% in breast biopsy specimens, the appropriate management of atypical ductal hyperplasia (ADH) remains in evolution. At present, the optimal screening guidelines for patients with high-risk breast lesions such as ADH remain unclear. Current practices often parallel the surveillance of cancer patients and include a 6 month interval mammogram prior to resuming annual screening, which may result in unnecessary procedures and financial costs. This interval mammogram is typically a diagnostic study, which is an additional cost to the patient and healthcare system. The purpose of this study was to identify interval pathology following initial surgical resection and review associated costs.

Methods: Following institutional review board approval, the pathology database from a single institution was queried for patients who underwent surgical excision for ‘atypical ductal hyperplasia’ from 2008 to 2013. Those who did not have follow-up data available were excluded. Subsequent clinical care was reviewed, including interval imaging and need for additional intervention. Based on a review of hospital charges from 2013, the average charge for a unilateral diagnostic mammogram (out-patient, digital) was $382.

Results: There were 55 patients who underwent an excisional biopsy that were diagnosed with ADH and had subsequent follow-up. The median age was 57 years (range 38-82 years), and the median breast cancer risk assessment score was 2.3% at 5 years (range 0.5-17.9%) and 12.5% lifetime risk (range 2.2-37.6%). Pathology included concurrent lobular carcinoma in situ (n=1), atypical lobular hyperplasia (n=3), flat epithelial atypia (n=14), and papillary lesions (n=19). In addition to a routine clinical breast exam, a short-term follow-up diagnostic (ipsilateral) mammogram was performed in 35 patients. Of the 35 interval mammograms obtained, 31 yielded benign findings on initial imaging, while 4 patients required additional imaging that ultimately resulted in benign findings. The overall hospital charges for the 35 short interval mammograms alone during this 6 year period were roughly $13,370. For the patients that resumed annual surveillance, 3 had abnormal mammograms requiring additional imaging, and no malignancies were identified in this subset of patients. To date, the median physician follow-up is 3 years, and 52 patients have undergone at least one mammogram since their initial imaging; all subsequent findings have been benign for all patients. When extrapolated to national data, cost savings to the healthcare system from eliminating short interval mammograms would exceed $12 million annually without compromising clinical outcomes.

Conclusions: Based on our findings, a 6 month follow-up mammogram is not recommended and incurs unnecessary costs to the patient and healthcare system. In the post-surgical breast, imaging may be misleading and result in additional procedures and significant charges that ultimately do not affect clinical outcomes. Although a clinical exam is still recommended at 6 months following surgical excision for a diagnosis of ADH, patients should forego short interval (6 month) imaging and resume annual mammogram surveillance.

Citation Format: Jennifer K Plichta, Adrienne N Cobb, Gerard J Abood, Constantine Godellas, Claudia B Perez. Post-operative imaging after atypical ductal hyperplasia excision: The findings and costs [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Thirty-Seventh Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: 2014 Dec 9-13; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(9 Suppl):Abstract nr P1-10-04.