[The use of digital radiography in the morphological evaluation of tumor response to neoadjuvant treatment of breast cancer].

Objective: To optimize the morphological assessment of tumor response to neoadjuvant therapy in breast cancer.

Material and methods: A retro- and prospective cohort study was conducted. The object of the study was the surgical material. Macroscopic parameters of residual tumor without and with the use of digital radiography (digital X-Ray) are described and analyzed. PathVision Faxitron imaging system was used for digital X-ray samples. An analysis of dynamics of clinical characteristics was carried out. Two methods of tumor bed examination were compared.

Results and discussion: The study cohort included 32 women, mean age 45.5±14 years. The correlation of the results of instrumental methods was 0.66 ([95% CI: 0.28; 1], p=0.0002). Microcalcinates were detected by digital X-Ray in 29 (90.6%) cases. Tumor bed sizes determined macroscopically (mean maximal size 6.1 (3.3) cm, median 5.2 (3.4-8.0) cm) and by using digital X-ray (mean maximal size 4.8 (2.6) cm, median 4.1 (2.7-6.2) cm), had statistically significant differences (p<0.0001). The agreement between the two methods of studying the tumor bed was 96.9%. The Cohen's kappa value was 0.95 (p<0.0001).

Conclusion: Morphological study is an integral part of clinical trials of drug efficacy. With the help of digital X-Ray, the identification of metal markers placed in the tumor bed and microcalcinates is facilitated by the morphologist, and the visibility of the boundaries of the tumor bed is also improved. The results obtained showed that the use of digital X-Ray can improve the accuracy of assessing the degree of morphological regression of breast cancer in response to treatment.