Abstract PO3-20-08: Case Studies on Detecting Ductal Carcinoma in Situ Using Contrast-Enhanced Spectral Mammography and Predictive Indicators for Underestimation
Authors: Song Minji , Shin Hee Jung 
Published: May 2024

Purpose: To introduce clinical cases of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) underestimation focusing on additional benefits of contrast-enhanced spectral mammography (CESM).

Background: DCIS, a noninvasive breast cancer, is often underestimated during diagnosis. Predicting which cases will upgrade to invasive cancer is crucial. CESM offers superior diagnostic performance compared to mammography and mammography with targeted ultrasound (US). Its low-energy images improve microcalcification conspicuity, enable accurate tumor extent measurement, and provide information on enhancements associated with nonmass microcalcifications. Enhanced areas on CESM can be easily compared with mammographic microcalcifications, for they are obtained during the same session.

Indicators heralding DCIS underestimation

1. Detectability: underestimated DCIS is more likely to be detected on CESM and mammogram than pure DICS, whereas detection rates do not statistically differ on US and MRI.

2. Lesion type: underestimated DCIS mostly presents as enhancing mass or nonmass lesions on CESM and calcifications on low-energy conventional mammography.

3. Disease extent: on CESM, pure DCIS show smaller tumor extent than the underestimated ones.

4. CESM gray value (CGV) of the lesion on recombined image: the pure DCIS types show lower mean, standard deviation, maximum, and difference values, whereas the underestimated types demonstrate lower minimum values, and vice versa.

Case 1: Screen detected pure DCIS without postsurgical upgrade in an asymptomatic 44-year-old woman. US-guided core biopsy yielded DCIS, intermediate nuclear grade with necrosis. Postsurgical pathology confirmed a 1.5 cm pure ductal carcinoma in situ, intermediate nuclear grade with necrosis.

(A) US shows a 1.3 cm irregular hypoechoic mass in the right breast. (B) Routine mammography demonstrates no definite abnormality in the right breast. (C) CESM shows a 1.2 cm irregular enhancing mass in the upper central portion of right breast and CGV was 2034 AU. (D) Contrast-enhanced MR images show a 2.1 cm irregular enhancing mass in 12 o’clock direction of the right breast.

Case 2: Screen detected DCIS with postsurgical upgrade to microinvasive ductal carcinoma in a 64-year-old woman with nonspecific discomfort in her right breast. US-guided core biopsy yielded DCIS, high nuclear grade with necrosis. Postsurgical pathology confirmed a 2.8 cm sized microinvasive ductal carcinoma, high nuclear grade, histologic grade 3 with necrosis.

(A) US demonstrates a 1.9 cm irregular hypoechoic mass with calcifications in 9 o’clock direction 2.1 cm from the nipple in the right breast. (B) Right magnification view shows a 2.5 cm-extent segmentally distributed fine pleomorphic calcifications in the right breast. (C) CESM shows a 3 cm irregular enhancing mass with calcifications in the right breast, and CGV was 2045 AU. (D) Contrast-enhanced MR images shows a 2.3 cm irregular enhancing mass in the right breast.

Case 3: Screen detected DCIS with postsurgical upgrade to invasive ductal carcinoma with DCIS in a 47-year-old woman who had a family history of breast cancer. US-guided core biopsy yielded DCIS, intermediate nuclear grade with necrosis. Postsurgical pathology confirmed a 0.2 cm invasive ductal carcinoma with 2.4 cm DCIS.

(A) US demonstrates a 2.3 cm irregular hypoechoic mass in the left breast. (B) Routine mammography shows asymmetry in the upper portion of the left breast. (C) CESM shows a 3 cm enhancing mass in the left breast, and CGV of the lesion on MLO-recombined image was 2072 AU. (D) Contrast-enhanced MR image shows a 6 cm irregular enhancing mass in the upper portion of the left breast.

Conclusion: CESM provides added advantages over mammography and breast US in detecting underestimated DCIS, and it is comparable to breast MRI. Key indicators to consider include detectability, enhancing lesion, larger tumor extent, higher mean CGV on CESM.

Citation Format: Minji Song, Hee Jung Shin. Case Studies on Detecting Ductal Carcinoma in Situ Using Contrast-Enhanced Spectral Mammography and Predictive Indicators for Underestimation [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2023 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2023 Dec 5-9; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(9 Suppl):Abstract nr PO3-20-08.