MONITORING AND FOLLOW-UP OF BIRADS 3 BREAST LESIONS IN PATIENTS WITH BREAST CANCER: A LUXURY OR A NECESSITY

Introduction : Category 3 breast lesions according to the Breast Imaging-Reporting and Data System (BI RADS) developed by the American College of Radiology (ACR 3, or BI-RADS 3) have well-defined characteristics and do not apply to atypical images or those that are difficult to interpret. The Haute Autorite de Sante(French National Authority for Health) recommends that all lesions classified as ACR3 during the pre-treatment assessment of breast cancer should be biopsied. This recommendation is easily applicable to ACR3 lesions detected by mammography or ultrasound.

Objective: The objective of our study was to evaluate the malignancy rate of ACR3 lesions detected on pre-treatment breast ultrasound or MRI, for the assessment or monitoring of patients with breast cancer.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted between the Mohammed VI Cancer Treatment Centre, the Gynaecological Oncology Department of the same centre and the Radiology Department of the Ibn Rochd Hospital Centre between January 2021 and December 2023. From the medical records, we identified 53 patients with ACR3 lesions visible on pre treatment, evaluation or surveillance echo mammography. We analysed: the radiological characteristics of the lesions, the rate of second-look ultrasound, the pathology results, the rate of collegial decision-making, the type of treatment and the number of biopsies performed during the follow-up period.