Qualitative assessments of density and background parenchymal enhancement on contrast-enhanced spectral mammography associated with breast cancer risk in high-risk women

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the correlation between the risk of breast cancer for high-risk females and the density and background parenchymal enhancement (BPE) on contrast-enhanced spectral mammography (CESM). Methods: Females at high-risk, without breast cancer history and received CESM from July 2016 to December 2017 were retrospectively enrolled. The longest follow-up time was 4.5 years, and patients who developed breast cancer with maximized follow-up time were classified as cancer cohort, while females who did not develop breast cancer were categorized as control cohort. These two cohorts were one-to-one matched in age, family and/or genetic history of breast cancer, menopausal status and BRCA status. The density and BPE at CESM imaging were assessed. Conditional logistic regression was applied to evaluate the relationship between imaging features and breast cancer risk. Results: During the follow-up interval, 90 women at high-risk without history of breast cancer were newly diagnosed. Compared with minimal BPE, increasing BPE levels were associated with the risk of breast cancer among high-risk females in a time interval of 4.5 years (mild: odds ratio [OR]=3.2, p = 0.001; moderate: OR = 4.0, p = 0.002; marked: OR = 11.2, p < 0.001). In addition, females with mild, moderate or marked BPE were four times more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer than females with minimal BPE in a time interval of 4.5 years (OR = 4.0, p < 0.001). Conclusion: Qualitative CESM BPE assessment may be useful in the prediction of breast cancer risk among high-risk females. Advances in knowledge: • Qualitative CESM BPE assessment may be useful in the prediction of breast cancer risk among high-risk women during the follow-up period of 4.5 years. • The significance of breast density as an independent risk factor is not fully established for high-risk women during the follow-up period of 4.5 years.