Role of Sonography in Predicting the Hormone Receptor Status of Breast Cancer: A Prospective Study

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the predictive value of sonography in identifying the receptor status of breast cancer. Sonograms were performed on 73 patients with breast cancer by two experienced sonologists, and the sonographic features such as tumor size, shape, margins, vascularity, posterior acoustic features, and architectural distortion of surrounding tissues were studied. These were then correlated with the receptor status, that is, triple negative versus non-triple negative. Triple-negative breast cancer was associated with large size, circumscribed margins, posterior acoustic enhancement, high vascularity, and lack of architectural distortion. Non-triple-negative breast cancer tumors revealed smaller sizes with spiculated margins, posterior shadowing, lower vascularity, and architectural distortion of surrounding tissues. Sonography revealed a high sensitivity and specificity (84.0% and 81.2%, respectively) on multivariate analysis for identifying receptor status prospectively. Interobserver agreement was also good. In conclusion, sonography may play a valuable role in prospectively predicting the receptor status in breast cancer and can serve as a potential tool for detecting triple-negative cancer.