Variant 1: Newly diagnosed. Clinical stage I-IIA (early stage) breast cancer at presentation. Evaluation for locoregional disease (includes invasive ductal carcinoma [IDC], or invasive lobular carcinoma [ILC], or not otherwise specified [NOS]).
Variant 2: Newly diagnosed. Clinical stage I-IIA (early stage) breast cancer at presentation. Evaluation for distant disease (includes IDC, or ILC, or NOS).
Variant 3: Newly diagnosed. Clinical stage IIB-III (late stage) breast cancer at presentation. Evaluation for locoregional disease (includes IDC, or ILC, or NOS).
Variant 4: Newly diagnosed. Clinical stage IIB-III (late stage) breast cancer at presentation. Evaluation for distant disease. IDC or ILC that is ER+/HER2-.
Variant 5: Newly diagnosed. Clinical stage IIB-III (late stage) breast cancer at presentation. Evaluation for distant disease. IDC or ILC that is HER2+ or triple negative (ER, PR, and HER2-).
Variant 6: Surveillance. Regardless of clinical stage of breast cancer at time of original presentation. Evaluation for local recurrence in patient with history of BCT.
Variant 7: Surveillance. Regardless of clinical stage of breast cancer at time of original presentation. Evaluation for local recurrence in patient with history of mastectomy.
Variant 8: Suspected local recurrence of breast cancer based on symptoms, physical examination, or laboratory value in patient with history of BCT. Regardless of clinical stage at time of original presentation.
Variant 9: Suspected local recurrence of breast cancer based on symptoms, physical examination, or laboratory value in patient with history of mastectomy. Regardless of clinical stage at time of original presentation.
Variant 10: Surveillance. Regardless of clinical stage of breast cancer at time of original presentation. Evaluation for distant metastatic disease.
Variant 11: Suspected distant recurrence of breast cancer based on symptoms, physical examination, or laboratory value. Regardless of clinical stage at time of original presentation.
Appendix Key

A more complete discussion of the items presented below can be found by accessing the supporting documents at the designated hyperlinks.

Appropriateness Category:The panel’s recommendation for a procedure based on the assessment of the risks and benefits of performing the procedure for the specified clinical scenario.

SOE: Strength of Evidence. The assessment of the amount and quality of evidence found in the peer reviewed medical literature for an appropriateness recommendation.

  • References: The citation number and PMID for the reference(s) associated with the recommendation.
  • Study Quality: The assessment of the quality of an individual reference based on the number of study quality elements described in the reference.

RRL: Relative Radiation Level. A population based assessment of the amount of radiation a typical patient may be exposed to during the specified procedure.

Rating: The final rating (1-9 scale) for the procedure as determined by the panel during rating rounds.

Median: The median rating (1-9 scale) for the procedure as determined by the panel during rating rounds.

Final tabulations: A histogram showing the number of panel members who rated the procedure as noted in the column heading (ie, 1, 2, 3, etc.).

Additional supporting documents about the AC methodology and processes can be found at www.acr.org/ac.