Di Grezia Graziella, Nazzaro Antonio, Schiavone Luigi, Elisa Cisternino, Galiano Alessandro, Gianluca Gatta, Vincenzo Cuccurullo, Scaglione Mariano
Department of Radiology, Link Campus University, 00165 Rome, Italy.
Independent Researcher, 83100 Avellino, Italy.
Cancers (Basel). 2025 Jul 30;17(15):2523. doi: 10.3390/cancers17152523.
: Breast density is a well-recognized factor in breast cancer risk assessment, with higher density linked to increased malignancy risk and reduced sensitivity of conventional mammography. Background parenchymal enhancement (BPE), observed in contrast-enhanced imaging, reflects physiological contrast uptake in non-pathologic breast tissue. While extensively characterized in breast MRI, the role of BPE in contrast-enhanced mammography (CEM) remains uncertain due to inconsistent findings regarding its correlation with breast density and cancer risk. Unlike breast density-standardized through the ACR BI-RADS lexicon-BPE lacks a uniform classification system in CEM, leading to variability in clinical interpretation and research outcomes. To address this gap, we introduce the BPE-CEM Standard Scale (BCSS), a structured four-tiered classification system specifically tailored to the two-dimensional characteristics of CEM, aiming to improve consistency and diagnostic alignment in BPE evaluation. In this retrospective single-center study, 213 patients who underwent mammography (MG), ultrasound (US), and contrast-enhanced mammography (CEM) between May 2022 and June 2023 at the "A. Perrino" Hospital in Brindisi were included. Breast density was classified according to ACR BI-RADS (categories A-D). BPE was categorized into four levels: Minimal (< 10% enhancement), Light (10-25%), Moderate (25-50%), and Marked (> 50%). Three radiologists independently assessed BPE in a subset of 50 randomly selected cases to evaluate inter-observer agreement using Cohen's kappa. Correlations between BPE, breast density, and age were examined through regression analysis. BPE was Minimal in 57% of patients, Light in 31%, Moderate in 10%, and Marked in 2%. A significant positive association was found between higher breast density (BI-RADS C-D) and increased BPE ( < 0.05), whereas lower-density breasts (A-B) were predominantly associated with minimal or light BPE. Regression analysis confirmed a modest but statistically significant association between breast density and BPE (R = 0.144), while age showed no significant effect. Inter-observer agreement for BPE categorization using the BCSS was excellent (κ = 0.85; 95% CI: 0.78-0.92), supporting its reproducibility. Our findings indicate that breast density is a key determinant of BPE in CEM. The proposed BCSS offers a reproducible, four-level framework for standardized BPE assessment tailored to the imaging characteristics of CEM. By reducing variability in interpretation, the BCSS has the potential to improve diagnostic consistency and facilitate integration of BPE into personalized breast cancer risk models. Further prospective multicenter studies are needed to validate this classification and assess its clinical impact.
乳腺密度是乳腺癌风险评估中一个公认的因素,密度越高,恶性风险增加,传统乳腺钼靶检查的敏感性降低。在对比增强成像中观察到的背景实质强化(BPE)反映了非病理性乳腺组织中的生理性对比剂摄取。虽然在乳腺磁共振成像中对BPE进行了广泛的特征描述,但由于其与乳腺密度和癌症风险的相关性研究结果不一致,BPE在对比增强乳腺钼靶检查(CEM)中的作用仍不确定。与通过美国放射学会(ACR)乳腺影像报告和数据系统(BI-RADS)词汇表标准化的乳腺密度不同,BPE在CEM中缺乏统一的分类系统,导致临床解读和研究结果存在差异。为了填补这一空白,我们引入了BPE-CEM标准量表(BCSS),这是一个专门针对CEM二维特征量身定制的结构化四级分类系统,旨在提高BPE评估的一致性和诊断一致性。在这项回顾性单中心研究中,纳入了2022年5月至2023年6月期间在布林迪西的“A.佩里诺”医院接受乳腺钼靶检查(MG)、超声检查(US)和对比增强乳腺钼靶检查(CEM)的213例患者。根据ACR BI-RADS对乳腺密度进行分类(A-D类)。BPE分为四个级别:最小(增强<10%)、轻度(10%-25%)、中度(25%-50%)和显著(>50%)。三名放射科医生在随机选择的50例病例子集中独立评估BPE,以使用科恩kappa系数评估观察者间的一致性。通过回归分析检验BPE、乳腺密度和年龄之间的相关性。57%的患者BPE为最小,31%为轻度,10%为中度,2%为显著。发现较高的乳腺密度(BI-RADS C-D)与BPE增加之间存在显著正相关(<0.05),而低密度乳腺(A-B)主要与最小或轻度BPE相关。回归分析证实乳腺密度与BPE之间存在适度但具有统计学意义的关联(R = 0.144),而年龄无显著影响。使用BCSS对BPE分类的观察者间一致性极佳(κ = 0.85;95%CI:0.78-0.92),支持其可重复性。我们的研究结果表明,乳腺密度是CEM中BPE的关键决定因素。所提出的BCSS为针对CEM成像特征的标准化BPE评估提供了一个可重复的四级框架。通过减少解读的变异性,BCSS有可能提高诊断一致性,并促进将BPE纳入个性化乳腺癌风险模型。需要进一步的前瞻性多中心研究来验证这一分类并评估其临床影响。