Calcifications on Breast Ultrasonography

ABSTRACT

Breast calcification is a very common and representative radiological finding visualized on a wide spectrum of breast diseases. Its detection and morphologic characterization are very important for the diagnosis and differentiation of breast lesions, for which mammography is the imaging modality of choice. Although ultrasonography is a very feasible tool in problem-solving diagnosis and interventional procedures of breast masses, it suffers limitations in the detection and characterization of microcalcifications. Recently, identification of microcalcifications on ultrasonography has become more frequent because of the advent of high-frequency transducer and improvements in spatial resolution. The importance of sonographic detection of breast calcifications lies in the fact that sonographically guided biopsy can be more easily and precisely performed for the suspicious lesions with microcalcifications (BI-RADS category 4 or 5). Additionally, the sonographic features correlating with mammographic findings are valuable for differentiate between malignant and benign lesions. This article describes the equipment and techniques to improve the detection rate of microcalcifications, the imaging features of various breast diseases with calcifications, and the suitable sonographically guided intervention.