Breast calcification

Introduction At present, mammography photography is still one of the important means for early detection and early diagnosis of breast cancer. The high rate of calcification in the mammary gland is a major advantage of mammography, especially digital molybdenum target photography. Different types of calcification are of great significance in the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of breast diseases. Careful analysis of the manifestations of calcification is of great value in determining the nature of the lesion. The benign calcified particles are coarse, the number is small, the density is high, and the distribution is limited. Malignant calcification particles are fine, numerous, and low in density, and sometimes calcification can be the only manifestation of breast cancer.

Cause

There are many factors that can cause calcification of the breast, such as tissue degeneration, necrotic calcium deposits, and some tumors secrete substances containing calcium salts to calcify the perivascular tissue. Analysis of the morphology, number, location of calcification and its relationship with surrounding structures is of great help in identifying the nature of the lesion.

an examination

Related inspection

Chest CT examination of breast ultrasound

The device is a digital mammography machine, and the projection site adopts the upper and lower axial positions of the double breast and the outer oblique position. The X-ray film is read by a senior doctor to determine whether there is a lump in the breast area, analyze the shape of the lump, and focus on the presence or absence of calcification. The location, number, shape and distribution of calcification were recorded in detail.

Differential diagnosis

The calcification morphology has great significance in distinguishing the benign and malignant lesions. It is found in observation:

(1) Large granular, eggshell, irregular mass and orbital calcification occurred in benign lesions. In this group of cases, 56 cases of coarse granular calcification occurred, all of which were benign lesions, which were scattered. There were 18 cases of round gross calcification, and breast hyperplasia was confirmed after surgical resection. The eggshell-like hollow calcified wall is often less than 1 mm thin, which is the calcification deposited on the edge of the bulb, which is common in fat necrosis or cyst. 30 cases were found in this group. Popcorn calcification is more common in breast fibroids. There are 4 cases in this group. Round or irregular mass calcification can also be seen in inflammatory necrosis and steatosis. There are 4 cases in this group. Orbital calcification refers to a neat long strip with a diameter greater than 1 mm. The center may have a translucent strip, which is more common in vascular embolization, senile vascular sclerosis, and benign lesions in the mammary duct. There are 5 cases in this group.

(2) Needle-like, small rod-like, bifurcation-like and sediment-like calcification occur mostly in malignant lesions. When the forms of calcification are diverse and the size varies greatly, the possibility of malignancy is greater, and a single form of calcification occurs. Clustered needle-like, bifurcation-like calcification is of great significance for the diagnosis of malignant lesions. The simple occurrence of sediment-like calcification makes it difficult to distinguish between benign and malignant lesions. There were 9 cases of sediment-like calcification in this group, 7 cases were malignant, and 2 cases were benign. It indicates that sediment-like calcification is an uncertain calcification, and there is overlap between benign and malignant, but if sediment-like calcification is accompanied by other calcified forms, it suggests malignant lesions.

The device is a digital mammography machine, and the projection site adopts the upper and lower axial positions of the double breast and the outer oblique position. The X-ray film is read by a senior doctor to determine whether there is a lump in the breast area, analyze the shape of the lump, and focus on the presence or absence of calcification. The location, number, shape and distribution of calcification were recorded in detail.

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