Papillary Breast Lesions: Association with Malignancy and Upgrade Rates on Surgical Excision

Intraductal papilloma falls under the category of benign breast mass. However, recent studies show that it can harbor occult carcinoma. The management of benign intraductal papilloma remains controversial because of its nonspecific radiologic and histological findings, as well as its association with surrounding malignant pathology. The purpose of this study is to investigate upgrade rates of a benign intraductal papilloma on surgical excision and the need for surgical excision of papillary lesions diagnosed at core needle biopsy. A retrospective review of a single institution's pathology database between 2011 and 2015 identified 43 core biopsies with benign papilloma. We followed the upgrade rates of these lesions on surgical excision. There were 90 biopsies with the diagnosis of benign intraductal papilloma. The average age was 55.2 (range from 24–87 years old). Forty-three had benign intraductal papilloma; 28 of the 43 core biopsies had surgical excision. Two (7.1%) had an upgrade from benign intraductal papilloma to intraductal papilloma with atypia. One (3.6%) had an upgrade to ductal carcinoma in situ. None had invasive cancer. Surgical findings were in agreement with core biopsies in 25 (89.3%) of 28 cases (κ = 0.80, P < 0.0001). Core biopsies have a statistically significant correlation with pathologies on surgical excision in detecting atypia in breast lesion as demonstrated by κ = 0.80. However, the study shows benign intraductal papillomas on core biopsy have an upgrade rate of 10.7 per cent after undergoing surgical excision. As such, we recommend a more aggressive approach including surgical excision of all benign intraductal papillary lesions.