Radial scar or complex sclerosing lesion is a histologic lesion of unknown origin. It is characterised by an irregular spiculated pattern of epithelial proliferations radiating from a central fibroelastotic core with entrapped and distorted ducts (1). Most Radial scar scars are small, microscopic findings in breast biopsies. Larger radial scars are evident at mammography, with detection rates of 0.2-0.6 per 1000 mammography (2-4). The clinical significance of radial scar: It is difficult to differentiate radial scar from carcinoma, both at mammography and histology It may...

Seventy four patients were diagnosed as radial scar by percutaneous biopsy in our Hospital from January 2005 to December 2010. Patients were excluded if radial scar associated with malignancy in percutaneous biopsy. Fifty nine women constituted the study group. We considered: mammographic and ultrasound findings, biopsy technique and if atypical hyperplasia were associated or not.

The imaging findings were: architectural distortion ( n=39 ), masses ( n=16 ), assymetries ( n=2 ) and calcifications ( n=2 ). (table1). The lesion size ranged from 5 to 37 mm with a mean of 17 mm. The biopsy techniques were: Stereotactic guided vacuum-assisted biopsy (28 women) 9-Gauge needle Twelve specimens were obtained per lesion. Ultrasound guide core biopsy (24 women) 14-Gauge needle Four specimens were obtained per lesion. * Both biopsy techniques (7 women) Histological results (Figure 2): Of the 59 lesions diagnosed...

In our experience, surgical biopsy can be avoided after a percutaneous biopsy of scar radial. No one of surgical biopsies performed in our series found associated malignancy. ¿We recommend to use Vacuum-asisted devices, obtain large number of specimens and perform surgical biopsy when associate atypia, as it has been published?

1.- Rosen PP (1997) Radial sclerosing lesions. Rosen´s breast pathology. Lippincott-Raven Publishers, Philadelphia, 76-81. 2.- Azavedo E, Savane Radial scars detected mammographically in a breast screening programme. Eur J Radiol 15 : 18-21. 3.- Ciatto S, Morrone D, Catarzi S et al. Radial scars of the breast: Review of 38 consecuive mammographic diagnoses. Radiology 187: 757-760. 4.- Burnett SJ, Ng YY, Perry NM, Gilmore OJ, Allum WH, Carpenter R, Wells CA. Benign biopsies in the prevalent round of breast screening: a review of 137 cases....