Courtesy of Prof Andy Evans, these images illustrate ultrasound features of invasive breast cancer which have been shown through retrospective analysis to have prognostic significance for breast cancer specific survival. A study of the ultrasound images from 319 consecutive women collected prospectively within a single breast service investigated associations between ultrasound features of the lesions, according to the American College of Radiology Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) lexicon, and breast cancer deaths. Multivariate analysis found three factors with prognostic significance for poorer breast cancer specific survival: focal oedema surrounding the tumour as shown in (a), posterior acoustic enhancement as shown in (b), and skin involvement (skin thickening or direct skin invasion). The prognostic significance of these ultrasound features suggest they could be used to guide the use of neoadjuvant systemic treatment.

 

The images are taken from a recent study now in press in Clinical Radiology: Lawson BT, Vinnicombe S, Whelehan P, Macaskill EJ, Sim YT, Evans A. Associations between the ultrasound features of invasive breast cancer and breast cancer specific survival. Clinical Radiology, 2020.