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Sophia Zackrisson, MD, PhD. Photo.

Sophia Zackrisson

Manager

Sophia Zackrisson, MD, PhD. Photo.

Axillary lymphadenopathy at the time of COVID-19 vaccination : ten recommendations from the European Society of Breast Imaging (EUSOBI)

Author

  • Simone Schiaffino
  • Katja Pinker
  • Veronica Magni
  • Andrea Cozzi
  • Alexandra Athanasiou
  • Pascal A.T. Baltzer
  • Julia Camps Herrero
  • Paola Clauser
  • Eva M. Fallenberg
  • Gábor Forrai
  • Michael H. Fuchsjäger
  • Thomas H. Helbich
  • Fleur Kilburn-Toppin
  • Christiane K. Kuhl
  • Mihai Lesaru
  • Ritse M. Mann
  • Pietro Panizza
  • Federica Pediconi
  • Ruud M. Pijnappel
  • Tamar Sella
  • Isabelle Thomassin-Naggara
  • Sophia Zackrisson
  • Fiona J. Gilbert
  • Francesco Sardanelli
Show all

Summary, in English

Unilateral axillary lymphadenopathy is a frequent mild side effect of COVID-19 vaccination. European Society of Breast Imaging (EUSOBI) proposes ten recommendations to standardise its management and reduce unnecessary additional imaging and invasive procedures: (1) in patients with previous history of breast cancer, vaccination should be performed in the contralateral arm or in the thigh; (2) collect vaccination data for all patients referred to breast imaging services, including patients undergoing breast cancer staging and follow-up imaging examinations; (3) perform breast imaging examinations preferentially before vaccination or at least 12 weeks after the last vaccine dose; (4) in patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer, apply standard imaging protocols regardless of vaccination status; (5) in any case of symptomatic or imaging-detected axillary lymphadenopathy before vaccination or at least 12 weeks after, examine with appropriate imaging the contralateral axilla and both breasts to exclude malignancy; (6) in case of axillary lymphadenopathy contralateral to the vaccination side, perform standard work-up; (7) in patients without breast cancer history and no suspicious breast imaging findings, lymphadenopathy only ipsilateral to the vaccination side within 12 weeks after vaccination can be considered benign or probably-benign, depending on clinical context; (8) in patients without breast cancer history, post-vaccination lymphadenopathy coupled with suspicious breast finding requires standard work-up, including biopsy when appropriate; (9) in patients with breast cancer history, interpret and manage post-vaccination lymphadenopathy considering the timeframe from vaccination and overall nodal metastatic risk; (10) complex or unclear cases should be managed by the multidisciplinary team.

Department/s

  • LUCC: Lund University Cancer Centre
  • EpiHealth: Epidemiology for Health
  • Radiology Diagnostics, Malmö
  • Diagnostic Radiology, (Lund)

Publishing year

2021

Language

English

Publication/Series

Insights into Imaging

Volume

12

Issue

1

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Springer

Topic

  • Cancer and Oncology

Keywords

  • COVID-19 vaccines
  • Lymphadenopathy
  • Magnetic resonance imaging
  • Mammography
  • Ultrasonography (breast)

Status

Published

Research group

  • Radiology Diagnostics, Malmö

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1869-4101