Sonomammographic manifestations of mammographically detectable breast microcalcifications.

Abstract

The sonographic appearances of ten breast carcinomas associated with microcalcifications were reviewed. None of the clusters of microcalcifications were visualized sonographically. All of the tumors were seen on sonomammography as either solid mass lesions or areas of acoustical shadowing.

High detection rate of breast ductal carcinoma in situ calcifications on mammographically directed high‐resolution sonography.

“…This limited study supported the results of previous studies that showed that lower-frequency sonographic examinations may identify soft tissue breast masses but do not show calcifications well. 2,9 Furthermore, when we used the 7.5-MHz transducer, we found that the asso-…”

“…In the past, several research studies have shown that sonography is insensitive for identifying microcalcifications. 1,2,[10][11][12] However, since these studies have been performed, there have been important improvements in sonographic equipment. Most major manufacturers now offer sonographic equipment with frequencies of 10 MHz or higher.…”

“…Most of these malignancies are invasive ductal carcinoma, DCIS, or a combination of the two. 2,13 We are aware of only 1 previous case report that sonographically described a focally dilated duct representing a breast malignancy. In the previously reported case, the focally dilated duct was found to correspond to invasive ductal carcinoma.…”

“…onography generally has not been considered a diagnostic modality for ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), because it is less sensitive for the identification of calcifications. [1][2][3] However, newer sonographic equipment offers higher-frequency transducers, which have allowed breast imagers to identify the structural anatomy of the breast in much greater detail than in the past. An in vitro study reported that researchers using high-frequency sonographic equipment were able to identify neoplastic microcalcifications within biopsy or mastectomy specimens with sensitivity of 95% and specificity of 88% when using mammography as the standard of reference.…”

Microcalcifications as elastic scatterers under ultrasound

“…The general clinical experience is that current ultrasound technology and protocol do not reliably detect MCs [2]- [4]. This represents one of the fundamental limitations of current ultrasound technology in the imaging of the breast.…”