Performance Benchmark Metrics and Clinicopathologic Outcomes of MRI-Guided Breast Biopsies: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

OBJECTIVE

To determine key performance metrics of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided breast biopsies (MRGB) to help identify reference benchmarks.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We identified studies reporting MRGB results up to 04.01.2021 in the Embase database, Ovid Medline (R) Process, Other Non-Indexed Citations, Ovid Medline (R) and completed a PRISMA checklist and sources of bias (QUADAS-2). The inclusion criteria were English language, available histopathological outcomes, or at least one imaging follow-up after biopsy. A random intercept logistic regression model was used to pool rates. Between-study heterogeneity was quantified by the I2 statistic.

RESULTS

A total of 11,215 lesions in 50 articles were analyzed. The technical success rate was 99.10% [95% confidence interval (CI): 97.89-99.62%]. The MRI indications were staging in 1,496 (28.05%, 95% CI: 26.85-29.28%), screening in 1,427 (26.76%, 95% CI: 25.57-27.97%), surveillance in 1,027 (19.26%, 95% CI: 18.21-20.34%), diagnostic in 1,038 (19.46%, 95% CI: 18.41-20.55%), unknown primary in 74 (1.39%, 95% CI: 1.09-1.74%), and other in 271 (5.08%, 95% CI: 4.51-5.71%). Histopathology was benign in 65.06% (95% CI: 59.15-70.54%), malignant in 29.64% (95% CI: 23.58-36.52%) and high risk in 16.69% (95% CI: 9.96-26.64%). Detection of malignancy was significantly lower in those patients who underwent MRI for screening purposes (odds ratio 0.47, 95% CI: 0.25-0.87; p = 0.02), while mass lesions were more likely to yield malignancy compared to non-mass and foci [27.39% vs 11.36% (non-mass),18.03% (foci); p<0.001]. Surgical upgrade to invasive cancer occurred in 12.24% of ductal carcinoma in situ (95% CI: 7.76-18.77%) and malignancy in 15.14% of high-risk lesions (95% CI: 10.69-21.17%). MRI follow-up was performed in 1,651 (20.92%) patients after benign results [median=25 months (range: 0.4-117)]. Radiology-pathology discordance (2.48%, 95% CI: 1.62-3.77%), false negative after a benign-concordant biopsy (0.75%, 95% CI: 0.34-1.62%) and biopsy complications (2.36%, 95% CI: 2.03-2.72%) were rare.

CONCLUSION

MRGB is a highly accurate minimally-invasive diagnostic technique with low false-negative and complication rates. MRI indication and lesion type should be considered when evaluating the performance of institutional MRGB programs.