The Utility of the Fifth Edition of the BI-RADS Ultrasound Lexicon in Category 4 Breast Lesions: A Prospective Multicenter Study in China

Rationale and Objectives: The objective of this study was to evaluate the utility of the fifth edition of the Breast Imaging-Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) in clinical breast radiology by using prospective multicenter real-time analyses of ultrasound (US) images. Materials and Methods: We prospectively studied 2049 female patients (age range, 19-86 years; mean age 46.88 years) with BI-RADS category 4 breast masses in 32 tertiary hospitals. All the patients underwent B-mode, color Doppler US, and US elastography examination. US features of the mass and associated features were described and categorized according to the fifth edition of the BI-RADS US lexicon. The pathological results were used as the reference standard. The positive predictive values (PPVs) of subcategories 4a-4c were calculated. Results: A total of 2094 masses were obtained, including 1124 benign masses (54.9%) and 925 malignant masses (45.1%). For BI-RADS US features of mass shape, orientation, margin, posterior features, calcifications, architectural distortion, edema, skin changes, vascularity, and elasticity assessment were significantly different for benign and malignant masses (p< 0.05). Typical signs of malignancy were irregular shape (PPV, 57.2%), spiculated margin (PPV, 83.7%), nonparallel orientation (PPV, 63.9%), and combined pattern of posterior features (PPV, 60.6%). For the changed or newly added US features, the PPVs for intraductal calcifications were 80%, 56.4% for internal vascularity, and 80% for a hard pattern on elastography. The associated features such as architectural distortion (PPV, 89.3%), edema (PPV, 69.2%), and skin changes (PPV, 76.2%) displayed high predictive value for malignancy. The rate of malignant was 7.4% (72/975) in category 4a, 61.4% (283/461) in category 4b, and 93.0% (570/613) in category 4c. The PPV for category 4b was higher than the likelihood ranges specified in BI-RADS and the PPVs for categories 4a and 4c were within the acceptable performance ranges specified in the fifth edition of BI-RADS in our study. Conclusion: Not only the US features of the breast mass, but also associated features, including vascularity and elasticity assessment, have become an indispensable part of the fifth edition of BI-RADS US lexicon to distinguish benign and malignant breast lesions. The subdivision of category 4 lesions into categories 4a, 4b, and 4c for US findings is helpful for further assessment of the likelihood of malignancy of breast lesions.