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Tumour volume doubling time of molecular breast cancer subtypes assessed by serial breast ultrasound

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Abstract

Objectives

The aim of our study was to evaluate the tumour volume doubling time (TVDT) of molecular breast cancer subtypes by serial ultrasound (US).

Methods

Sixty-six patients (mean age, 50 years; range, 29–78 years) with invasive breast cancer underwent initial and follow-up breast US examinations (at least three months apart) with no intervention. TVDT was determined using the tumours’ greatest dimensions in two orthogonal planes. The results were compared with clinical, imaging, and tumour variables and molecular subtypes (oestrogen receptor [ER]-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 [HER2]-positive, and triple negative) using a multiple linear regression analysis.

Results

TVDT exhibited a wide range (46–825 days; median, 141 days) with an overall mean of 193 ± 141 days and mean values of 241 ± 166 days for ER-positive tumours (n = 37), 162 ± 60 days for HER2-positive tumours (n = 12), and 103 ± 43 days for triple-negative tumours (n = 17) (P < 0.0001). In a multivariate regression analysis, compared to other features, only the different molecular breast cancer subtypes showed significant difference in TVDT (P < 0.0001).

Conclusions

TVDT differed significantly among the three molecular breast cancer subtypes, with the triple-negative tumours showing the fastest growth.

Key Points

• Knowledge of tumour volume doubling time provides clues for improving screening.

• TVDT assessed by serial US differed significantly between breast cancer subtypes.

• Triple-negative tumours had 2.4-fold shorter TVDT compared to ER-positive tumours.

• Tumours classified as BI-RADS 3 had shorter TVDT than BI-RADS 4.

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Abbreviations

TVDT :

Tumour volume doubling time

ER :

oestrogen receptor

PR :

progesterone receptor

HER2 :

human epidermal growth factor receptor 2

IHC :

immunohistochemistry

BI-RADS :

Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System

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Acknowledgments

The scientific guarantor of this publication is Woo Kyung Moon. The authors of this manuscript declare no relationships with any companies whose products or services may be related to the subject matter of the article. This study has received funding by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MEST) (No. 2012R1A2A1A01010846). No complex statistical methods were necessary for this paper. Institutional Review Board approval was obtained. Written informed consent was waived by the Institutional Review Board. Methodology: retrospective, observational, performed at one institution.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Dongnam Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences Cancer Center, Busan, Korea

    Eun Bi Ryu

  2. Department of Radiology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, 28 Yongon-dong, Chongno-gu, Seoul, 110-744, Korea

    Jung Min Chang, Mirinae Seo, Sun Ah Kim, Ji He Lim & Woo Kyung Moon

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  1. Eun Bi Ryu
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Correspondence to Woo Kyung Moon.

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Ryu, E.B., Chang, J.M., Seo, M. et al. Tumour volume doubling time of molecular breast cancer subtypes assessed by serial breast ultrasound. Eur Radiol 24, 2227–2235 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-014-3256-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-014-3256-0

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