Higher underestimation of tumour size post-neoadjuvant chemotherapy with breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-A concordance comparison cohort analysis.

Abstract

ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of breast MRI for detecting residual tumor and the tumor size whether it would be affected after neoadjuvant chemotherapy.MethodsTotal 109 patients with NAC and 682 patients without NAC were included in this retrospective study. Measurement of the largest diameter of tumors at pathology was chosen as gold standard and compared with preoperative breast MRI. A concordance threshold of ±25% of maximal tumor size was used. The accuracy of MRI was graded as concordant, underestimation, or overestimation rate. Further subgroup analysis with tumor stages, histologic subgroups and intrinsic subtypes was performed.ResultsThe post-NAC MRI was associated with 92.5% sensitivity, 55.2% specificity, 85.1% positive predictive value, 72.7% negative predictive value, and overall 82.6% accuracy for detecting residual tumor. In determining tumor size, the overall concordance rates of the non-NAC group and the NAC group were 43.5% and 41.3%, respectively (p = 0.678). But the overestimation rate and underestimation rate were 26.6% and 32.1% for NAC group, and 52.9% and 3.5% for the non-NAC group (pConclusionsThe overall accuracy of MRI in predicting tumor size was not affected by NAC; however, it tends to underestimate tumor size after NAC, especially in patients with T3 lesions and above.