Screen-detected breast carcinoma with macroscopic dystrophic calcification: A pictorial essay with radiolological pathological correlation

J Med Imaging Radiat Oncol. 2016 Apr;60(2):216-23. doi: 10.1111/1754-9485.12426. Epub 2016 Jan 8.

Abstract

Breast calcifications are among the most common abnormal radiographic findings detected at screening mammography. This essay illustrates the clinico-pathological features of nine screen-detected breast carcinomas, which had benign-appearing macrocalcifications, as a radiographically dominant presenting feature. We aimed to demonstrate that benign-appearing calcifications within a breast lesion are not diagnostic of a benign process if the other imaging characteristics of the lesion are suspicious of malignancy.

Keywords: breast screening; calcification; malignancy; mammography.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study

MeSH terms

  • Breast Neoplasms / diagnostic imaging*
  • Breast Neoplasms / epidemiology*
  • Calcinosis / diagnostic imaging*
  • Calcinosis / epidemiology*
  • Causality
  • Comorbidity
  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Early Detection of Cancer / statistics & numerical data*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Mammography / statistics & numerical data*
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Risk Factors
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Statistics as Topic
  • Western Australia / epidemiology