Value of magnetic resonance imaging in diagnosis of pathological nipple discharge / 中华普通外科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To explore the diagnostic value of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for patients with pathologic nipple discharge.Methods:A retrospective analysis was made on patients with nipple discharge who underwent breast MRI and surgical excision between Oct 2010 to Oct 2020. Sensitivity, speci?city, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of MRI were calculated.Results:A total of 184 patients fulfilled our selection criteria, including breast cancer in 43 cases (23.4%), intraductal papilloma in 96 cases (52.2%) and other benign diseases in 45 cases (24.5%). The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of MRI for intraductal lesions of pathologic nipple discharge were respectively 76.8%, 52.2%, 82.8% and 42.9%. The sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV of MRI for pathologic malignant nipple discharge were respectively 97.7%, 41.1%, 33.6% and 98.3%. Among the 43 cases of breast cancer, 10 cases (23.3%) were occult malignancy with negative ultrasound and mammography and malignant lesions were detected by MRI. The sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV of MRI for occult malignancy were 81.8%, 53.7%, 24.4%, and 97.3%.Conclusion:MRI is a valuable additional diagnostic tool for the evaluation of pathologic nipple discharge, especially when conventional imaging is negative .