Breast papillary lesions: Clinical, pathological, and prognostic study in 144 cases in Medellin, Colombia

Abstract

Objective: to describe the sociodemographic data, the clinical and paraclinical manifestations, the treatment and the recurrence, in a group of patients diagnosed with papillary lesions. Methodology: analytical study of a retrospective cohort with secondary sources of information from users’ medical records in the period of January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2019. The demographic, clinical and paraclinical data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: the prevalence in the sample was 4.7%; all cases were women, the mean age was 55.5 years; the most frequent reason for consultation was abnormal breast imaging examination (n=79, 54.9 %), the mean size was 1.9 cm (range 0,1-20). Disagreement was found between the diagnosis by sharp biopsy and the pathology specimen in 48.6% of cases (n=70); lesion underestimation with higher risk was found in 36.1% of them (n=52). According to the histological classification, the most frequent was intraductal papilloma in 34.7% (n=50), followed by papillary carcinoma in 11.8% (n=17). The type of surgery most performed was quadrantectomy, 68.7% (n=99). The mean follow-up was 28.5 months and relapse was found in 4.9% (n=7). Conclusion: papillary lesions comprise a heterogeneous group, with a spectrum that includes both benign lesions and those with malignant potential. The lesions affect women in their fifties. They become apparent as a small, unilateral mass, without a predominance of laterality, and of slow growth. The optimal treatment in risk lesions and with atypia is surgery with negative margins. The risk of recurrence is clinically important.