More Rohan S, Dumbre Saurabh, Dikle Ajit M
Surgery, Government Medical College and Hospital, Dharashiv, IND.
General Surgery, Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation Post Graduate Institute and Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital, Pune, IND.
Cureus. 2025 Mar 31;17(3):e81538. doi: 10.7759/cureus.81538. eCollection 2025 Mar.
Breast lumps are a common clinical presentation, often causing significant anxiety due to the risk of malignancy. Early and accurate differentiation between benign and malignant breast lesions is essential for optimal patient management. The modified triple test (MTT), which replaces mammography with ultrasound in the traditional triple assessment test (TAT), offers a more effective diagnostic approach, particularly in younger women with dense breast tissue. This study evaluates the efficacy of MTT in diagnosing breast lesions.
A prospective observational study was conducted on 100 female patients aged 15 years and above presenting with palpable breast lumps at South Central Railway Hospital, Secunderabad, India. Patients underwent clinical examination, ultrasound (USG), and fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC), with histopathological examination (HPE) as the gold standard. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) were calculated for each modality.
The majority of participants were in the 41-50 years age group (38%). Clinical examination demonstrated a sensitivity of 73.08% and specificity of 98.65%. Ultrasound exhibited a sensitivity of 57.69% and specificity of 98.64%. FNAC showed a sensitivity of 84.62% and specificity of 98.65%. MTT demonstrated 100% sensitivity, 98.65% specificity, and 96.30% PPV, significantly outperforming individual modalities.
The MTT is a highly accurate and reliable diagnostic approach for breast lump evaluation, reducing the need for unnecessary biopsies. Its high sensitivity and specificity make it a valuable tool for early breast cancer detection, especially in resource-limited settings.
乳腺肿块是一种常见的临床表现，由于存在恶性风险，常常引起显著的焦虑。对于最佳的患者管理而言，早期准确区分乳腺良性和恶性病变至关重要。改良三联检查（MTT）在传统三联评估检查（TAT）中用超声取代了乳房X线摄影，提供了一种更有效的诊断方法，特别是对于乳腺组织致密的年轻女性。本研究评估了MTT在诊断乳腺病变中的疗效。
对印度塞康德拉巴德市中南铁路医院100例年龄在15岁及以上、有可触及乳腺肿块的女性患者进行了一项前瞻性观察研究。患者接受了临床检查、超声（USG）和细针穿刺细胞学检查（FNAC），以组织病理学检查（HPE）作为金标准。计算了每种检查方法的敏感性、特异性、阳性预测值（PPV）和阴性预测值（NPV）。
大多数参与者在41 - 50岁年龄组（38%）。临床检查的敏感性为73.08%，特异性为98.65%。超声的敏感性为57.69%，特异性为98.64%。FNAC的敏感性为84.62%，特异性为98.65%。MTT的敏感性为100%，特异性为98.65%，PPV为96.30%，显著优于单独的检查方法。
MTT是一种用于评估乳腺肿块的高度准确且可靠的诊断方法，减少了不必要活检的需求。其高敏感性和特异性使其成为早期乳腺癌检测的有价值工具，尤其是在资源有限的环境中。
