Publication:

Multiple core histopathologies for discriminative diagnosis of phyllodes pathology in breast

Background Historical patient’s records were analyzed. Patients diagnosed with phyllodes tumors of the breast who   received preoperative core needle biopsy and undergone breast surgery at a tertiary cancer centre in Patna, Bihar, India from January 2020 to December 2020. The resulting data allowed us to compare the accordance between core needle biopsy and final histopathology of phyllodes tumor    of the breast patients and evaluate the accuracy of core needle biopsy in preoperative diagnosis.

Methods This is a retrospective study evaluated the case records of one hundred twenty (n=120) patients for core needle biopsy findings and subsequent histopathology reports post-surgery. Sensitivity and significance of core needle biopsy was determined for phyllodes tumor of the breast.

Results A total of one hundred twenty (n=120) patients’ data were analyzed. There were ninety (n=90) fibroadenoma and thirty (n=30) phyllodes tumor patients. Sensitivity of core needle biopsy for benign tumor was 64.2%, borderline 40% and a malignant phyllodes tumor was 100% respectively.

Conclusions Core needle biopsy provides a pathological basis for pre-operative diagnosis of phyllodes tumor, but it has a low accuracy and offers limited guidance for surgical decisions, if used alone. An integrated assessment using needle biopsies in combination with clinical data and imaging features is suggested as a reliable strategy to aid phyllodes tumor diagnosis and subsequent treatment.