Invasive Lobular Carcinoma of the Breast: Appearance on Digital Breast Tomosynthesis.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to characterize the signs of invasive lobular carcinoma of the breast on digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) imaging.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study group included 23 women with pathologically proven invasive lobular carcinoma of the breast for whom both digital mammography (DM) and DBT images were available. The images were read jointly by 2 experienced breast radiologists. Findings were recorded according to the descriptors in the Breast Imaging and Reporting Data System lexicon and correlated with the detailed pathology results.

RESULTS: In 21 of the 23 patients, the combination of DM and DBT yielded pathologic findings (91%). Architectural distortions or spiculations were demonstrated in 87% of cases. The addition of DBT to DM improved lesion detection by more clearly depicting both the lesion margins and architectural distortions. Only 2 lesions were occult by both DM and DBT, including 1 lesion in a peripheral location that was not incorporated in the standard mediolateral oblique and craniocaudal views.

CONCLUSION: DBT improves the detection of invasive lobular carcinoma lesions by more clearly depicting architectural distortions and spiculations.