Management of patients diagnosed with atypical ductal hyperplasia by vacuum-assisted core biopsy: a prospective assessment of the guidelines used at our institution.

Background: Because of underestimation, surgical excision is recommended for atypical ductal hyperplasia diagnosed on directional vacuum-assisted biopsies. The following guidelines have been established according to our retrospective study published in 2008: excision for lesions ≥ 21 mm, follow-up for lesions <6 mm with complete removal of microcalcifications, and follow-up or excision for 6 to 21-mm lesions with respectively less or >2 atypical ductal hyperplasia foci.

Methods And Results: These guidelines were assessed in a prospective series of 124 patients with a median follow-up of 30 months. Conformity rate was 92%. Upgrading was 28% (15 of 53 patients) for conformed surgery and absent for surgery performed beyond the scope of guidelines. For the patients with benign result at surgery (n = 38) or just followed (n = 61), 3 cancers occurred in either breast at 1 to 3 years.

Conclusions: These convenient guidelines can safely spare surgery for a subset of patients. However, annual mammographic follow-up is recommended since the risk of subsequent cancer remains high for both breasts.