Pregnancy Associated Breast Cancer. Is There Any Difference between Clinic Pathological and Ultrasound Findings

 
Background: Pregnancy associated breast cancer (PABC) is defined as breast cancers detected during pregnancy or in the first 12 months post- partum, or at any time during lactation. PABC is a rare but serious occurrence in young wemen.
Aim: This study aims to evaluate clinic pathological and ultrasound features of patients with PABC.
Materials and Methods: From September 2015 to December 2022, 32 patients with breast cancer were diagnosed that has the inclusion criteria of PABC.Our inclusion criteria was the detection of breast cancer during pregnancy or in the first year post-partum year or during lactation. The control group who had breast cancer without PABC criteria included 32 age-matched patients who had no clinical history of recent pregnancy or lactation at the time of cancer detection. The
clinic pathological and ultrasound findings of PABC and non-PABC were evaluated.
Findings: Most PABC cases presents with palpable mass, painful breast lump or skin edema .The analysis of ultrasound findings showed that marginal irregularity, heterogeneous internal echogenicity with cystic area and non-parallel orientation were higher in PABC group .Most cases with PABC were BI-RADS 4C or 5 in comparison with non-PABC patients . There was a significant difference in pathological grading in PABC cases comparison to non-PABC group
Conclusion: Radiologists should be familiar with imaging findings of PABC the difference between imaging findings of breast lesions in PABC and non-PABC group and recommended core needle biopsy in suspected cases.