Breast Biopsies – Should Women With Aytpia or DCIS Seek Second Opinions?

Doctors almost always agree on a pathological diagnosis of invasive breast cancer, there is room for improvement when diagnosing atypia (or atypical ductal hyperplasia-ADH) and DCIS (ductal carcinoma in-situ). The Dartmouth investigators, and national collaborators, published the study, “Diagnostic Concordance Among Pathologists Interpreting Breast Biopsy Specimens,” in JAMA. The study involved 115 participating pathologists from 8 states, providing a total of 6,900 breast pathology interpretations. The overall concordance rate was 75.3%, with a rate of 96% for biopsies with invasive carcinoma. The concordance rate for atypia was just 48%, and it was 84% for DCIS. Here is the New York Times report.