A critical review of abdominopelvic computed tomography for the detection of asymptomatic metastasis in new and recurrent breast cancers

Abstract

Aim: Abdominopelvic computed tomography (APCT) is a commonly used staging investigation to detect asymptomatic metastasis in breast cancer including early breast cancer (EBC). This study aimed to assess the usefulness of APCT in breast cancers at each clinical stage. Methods: Patients with new or recurrent invasive breast cancer between January 2009 and December 2014 were included in the study. All staging APCT results were reviewed to evaluate its yield and false positive rate (FPR) and how many investigations are needed to confirm indeterminate results. Odds ratios (ORs) for positive APCT results were calculated for possible risk factors for asymptomatic metastasis. Results: Sixty-five asymptomatic metastases were detected from 1002 APCTs, giving an overall yield of 6.5%. The overall false-positive rate was 14.9 % due to 149 indeterminate findings that were found not to be metastases after further investigations or observation. Whereas the APCTs have a low yield of 3.1% in EBC, but advanced breast cancer and recurrent breast cancer have a high incidence of asymptomatic metastases (13.8% and 16.3%, respectively). The most common cause of indeterminate findings was small liver nodules, including liver cysts and liver hemangiomas. Human epidermal growth factor receptor2 (HER2) status and tumor stage are most significant predictors for positive results of staging APCT scans with high ORs (3.9 and 3.7, respectively). Conclusion: Staging APCT is associated with a high incidence of FPRs and low yield, especially among EBCs. It is desirable to choose this investigation more selectively according to HER2 status and tumor stage. © 2021 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd