[Infrared thermography outcomes in women with suspected breast cancer].

BACKGROUND

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cause of death in women aged 40 to 75 years. Infrared thermography (IT) has been proposed as a noninvasive test useful in the detection of BC.

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the results of IT in women with suspected BC.

MATERIAL AND

METHODS

An analytical, observational, longitudinal, and prospective study was conducted. Women aged ≥ 15 years with suspected BC were included, with BI-RADS (Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System) 4. Prior to the biopsy, breast temperature was measured using 2 thermographic sensors. The histopathological results of the breast biopsy were recorded and classified as inflammatory lesions, fibrocystic breast disease, premalignant lesions, and malignant lesions.

RESULTS

A total of 104 women were analyzed, with BI-RADS 4A (64%), 4B (26%), and 4C (10%), and 4 were eliminated due to loss to follow-up. Mean age was 47.7 ± 12.2 years. 14% of cases showed a palpable lesion, with the right breast being the most affected (56%). The most common malignant lesion was ductal carcinoma (11%). The IT cutoff point for malignant lesion ≥ 33.4 °C showed a sensitivity of 0.69, specificity of 0.63, area under the curve (AUC) = 0.65 (95% confidence intervals [95% CI] 0.45-0.79), p = 0.03; with an odds ratio (OR) = 4.16 (95% CI 1.23-14.09), p = 0.01.

CONCLUSION

The results of the IT showed moderate sensitivity and specificity for malignant lesions. The cutoff point ≥ 33.4 °C showed a 4-fold increased risk for malignancy.