gail model for assessing the risk of breast cancer in women with fibroadenoma: a diagnostic accuracy study

Background & objective: the routine approach to fibroadenomas in the bi-rads 3 category consists of follow-up at brief intervals and biopsy is usually forborne. nevertheless, there is some evidence implying a link between this benign mass and breast cancer. the present study was performed with aim to investigate the accuracy of the gail model for assessing the risk of breast malignancy in women suffering from fibroadenoma. materials & methods: this diagnostic accuracy study was conducted at the surgery clinic of shahid rahimi hospital in khorramabad, iran, in 2020-2021. a total of 160 women aged >35 years who had a breast fibroadenoma in the bi-rads 3 category were included. the gail questionnaire was utilized to estimate the risk of developing breast cancer. the patients with a gail score ≥1.67 underwent biopsy, while those with a gail score of ˂1.67 were followed up for 3 months. then, the baseline and follow-up findings of the patients were collected and compared. results: the mean age of the patients was 40.87 ± 6.08 years. no cases of breast cancer were found in the low-risk group who were followed up or in the high-risk group who underwent biopsy. higher age, a positive history of breast malignancy in first-degree family members, and a personal history of breast biopsy were significantly associated with a higher gail score (p˂0.001). conclusion: for patients with fibroadenoma in bi-rads 3 category, a high gail score does not justify performing a breast biopsy. therefore, follow-up in brief intervals is safe and invasive interventions should be avoided.