ROLE OF MORPHOLOGICAL CHANGES BY ULTRASONOGRAPHY IN PREDICTION OF BREAST CANCER MOLECULAR SUBTYPES

Abstract

1. Introduction Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. It is a complex disease. The molecular subtyping of breast cancer has emerged as a vital component of breast cancer management recently, and it is now essential for prognosis and therapeutic planning.According to the St Gallen conference (2011) four molecular subtypes can be defined by using the following biomarkers: ER, PR, HER2 and Ki-67. The 4 subtypes are: Luminal A, luminal B, HER2-enriched, and triple negative breast cancer. Breast imaging may have a role in predicting the molecular subtypes of breast cancer. Mammography and ultrasonography are the primary imaging modalities. Ultrasound is known for its high sensitivity and specificity with being non invasive.Consequently, we are attempting to correlate between the molecular subtypes and morphological changes detected on ultrasound such as shape, margins, orientation, surrounding desmoplastic reaction, related parenchymal architecture distortion, calcifications and vascularity. 2. Aim The aim of this study is to evaluate the role of morphological changes detected on ultrasonography in prediction of breast cancer molecular subtypes.