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Risk assessment tools for women with breast atypia: A systematic review.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Nierenberg, TC; Dalton, JC; Howell, R; Kaplan, S; Chiba, A; Wang, T; Plichta, JK
Published in: Am J Surg
December 2025

BACKGROUND: Breast atypia is a benign breast disease found in a minority of percutaneous biopsies and is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. Risk assessment calculators/tools have variable performance in this subgroup. We systematically reviewed tools developed or validated for women with breast atypia to guide clinicians and inform future model development. METHODS: We searched three databases for original studies published prior to November 13, 2023, that investigated the development or validation of risk assessment tools in atypia patients. PROBAST was used to assess the risk of bias and applicability. RESULTS: From 6252 records, 12 studies (1993-2022) were included (91.6 ​% U.S.-based; median sample size 540). The Gail model (C-index 0.5) and Tyrer-Cuzick model (0.49-0.54) performed poorly. Newer models demonstrated improved calibration (0.59-0.68), though 41.6 ​% had high risk of bias. CONCLUSIONS: Current tools inadequately predict breast cancer risk in atypia patients. Novel, population-specific models are needed.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Am J Surg

DOI

EISSN

1879-1883

Publication Date

December 2025

Volume

250

Start / End Page

116598

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Surgery
  • Risk Assessment
  • Humans
  • Female
  • Breast Neoplasms
  • Breast
  • 3203 Dentistry
  • 3202 Clinical sciences
  • 1103 Clinical Sciences
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
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Nierenberg, T. C., Dalton, J. C., Howell, R., Kaplan, S., Chiba, A., Wang, T., & Plichta, J. K. (2025). Risk assessment tools for women with breast atypia: A systematic review. Am J Surg, 250, 116598. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjsurg.2025.116598
Nierenberg, Tori C., Juliet C. Dalton, Rylan Howell, Samantha Kaplan, Akiko Chiba, Ton Wang, and Jennifer K. Plichta. “Risk assessment tools for women with breast atypia: A systematic review.Am J Surg 250 (December 2025): 116598. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjsurg.2025.116598.
Nierenberg TC, Dalton JC, Howell R, Kaplan S, Chiba A, Wang T, et al. Risk assessment tools for women with breast atypia: A systematic review. Am J Surg. 2025 Dec;250:116598.
Nierenberg, Tori C., et al. “Risk assessment tools for women with breast atypia: A systematic review.Am J Surg, vol. 250, Dec. 2025, p. 116598. Pubmed, doi:10.1016/j.amjsurg.2025.116598.
Nierenberg TC, Dalton JC, Howell R, Kaplan S, Chiba A, Wang T, Plichta JK. Risk assessment tools for women with breast atypia: A systematic review. Am J Surg. 2025 Dec;250:116598.
Journal cover image

Published In

Am J Surg

DOI

EISSN

1879-1883

Publication Date

December 2025

Volume

250

Start / End Page

116598

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Surgery
  • Risk Assessment
  • Humans
  • Female
  • Breast Neoplasms
  • Breast
  • 3203 Dentistry
  • 3202 Clinical sciences
  • 1103 Clinical Sciences