<strong>Objective:</strong> To date, few studies have compared the diagnostic performance and visibility of microcalcifications obtained using digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) with those obtained from fu...<strong>Objective:</strong> To date, few studies have compared the diagnostic performance and visibility of microcalcifications obtained using digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) with those obtained from full-field digital mammography (FFDM). The visualization and characterization of microcalcifications with DBT remain controversial. The purpose of this study was to compare the visibility of microcalcifications and determine whether DBT exhibits a diagnostic advantage for visualizing microcalcifications over FFDM.<strong> Methods: </strong>We retrospectively reviewed 120 cases including DBT and FFDM imaging (60 histologically verified as breast cancers and 60 as benign microcalcifications or normal). DBT images with a wide scan-angle of 50<span style="white-space:nowrap;"><span style="white-space:nowrap;">°</span></span> and FFDM images were obtained using a flat-panel system (MAMMOMAT Inspiration, Siemens). Images were independently reviewed by four board-certified radiologists and evaluated for the presence of microcalcifications, probability of malignancy (BI-RADS classification), and visibility. <strong>Results:</strong> In predicting the malignancy of detected microcalcifications, no significant difference was found between readers’ areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve for DBT and FFDM (p = 0.068). The visibility scores of detected microcalcifications were 3.74 <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><span style="white-space:nowrap;"><span style="white-space:nowrap;">±</span></span></span> 1.06 for DBT and 3.46 <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><span style="white-space:nowrap;"><span style="white-space:nowrap;">±</span></span></span> 0.93 for FFDM, respectively. The visibility of microcalcifications when using DBT was found to be significantly superior to that of FFDM (p < 0.05). <strong>Conclusion:</strong> Our results suggest that the image quality of DBT with a wide scan-angle is comparable or superior to that obtained with FFDM in terms of both visibility and assessment of microcalcifications.展开更多
Mucinous carcinoma of the breast has histologically distinct features and constitutes 1-3% of all breast cancers. It produces variable amounts of extracellular epithelial mucin and clinically its prognosis is far bett...Mucinous carcinoma of the breast has histologically distinct features and constitutes 1-3% of all breast cancers. It produces variable amounts of extracellular epithelial mucin and clinically its prognosis is far better than for other types of invasive carcinoma. On the other hand, coarse calcification is a common mammographic feature of benign tumors. There have been few reported cases of breast cancer containing coarse calcification. We present a unique 40 year-old female case of mucinous carcinoma of the breast accompanied by coarse calcification on mammography, which was mimicking fibroadenoma and an unusual variant of breast cancer. This case illustrates the importance of bearing in mind that mucinous carcinoma may demonstrate coarse calcification.展开更多
文摘<strong>Objective:</strong> To date, few studies have compared the diagnostic performance and visibility of microcalcifications obtained using digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) with those obtained from full-field digital mammography (FFDM). The visualization and characterization of microcalcifications with DBT remain controversial. The purpose of this study was to compare the visibility of microcalcifications and determine whether DBT exhibits a diagnostic advantage for visualizing microcalcifications over FFDM.<strong> Methods: </strong>We retrospectively reviewed 120 cases including DBT and FFDM imaging (60 histologically verified as breast cancers and 60 as benign microcalcifications or normal). DBT images with a wide scan-angle of 50<span style="white-space:nowrap;"><span style="white-space:nowrap;">°</span></span> and FFDM images were obtained using a flat-panel system (MAMMOMAT Inspiration, Siemens). Images were independently reviewed by four board-certified radiologists and evaluated for the presence of microcalcifications, probability of malignancy (BI-RADS classification), and visibility. <strong>Results:</strong> In predicting the malignancy of detected microcalcifications, no significant difference was found between readers’ areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve for DBT and FFDM (p = 0.068). The visibility scores of detected microcalcifications were 3.74 <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><span style="white-space:nowrap;"><span style="white-space:nowrap;">±</span></span></span> 1.06 for DBT and 3.46 <span style="white-space:nowrap;"><span style="white-space:nowrap;"><span style="white-space:nowrap;">±</span></span></span> 0.93 for FFDM, respectively. The visibility of microcalcifications when using DBT was found to be significantly superior to that of FFDM (p < 0.05). <strong>Conclusion:</strong> Our results suggest that the image quality of DBT with a wide scan-angle is comparable or superior to that obtained with FFDM in terms of both visibility and assessment of microcalcifications.
文摘Mucinous carcinoma of the breast has histologically distinct features and constitutes 1-3% of all breast cancers. It produces variable amounts of extracellular epithelial mucin and clinically its prognosis is far better than for other types of invasive carcinoma. On the other hand, coarse calcification is a common mammographic feature of benign tumors. There have been few reported cases of breast cancer containing coarse calcification. We present a unique 40 year-old female case of mucinous carcinoma of the breast accompanied by coarse calcification on mammography, which was mimicking fibroadenoma and an unusual variant of breast cancer. This case illustrates the importance of bearing in mind that mucinous carcinoma may demonstrate coarse calcification.
