Asymmetric breast tissue.

A prospective study was undertaken to evaluate the significance of asymmetric breast tissue (asymmetric volume of breast tissue, asymmetrically dense breast tissue with preserved architecture, or asymmetrically prominent ducts) on mammograms. Of 8,408 mammograms obtained in 1985, 221 (3%) demonstrated asymmetric breast tissue. Follow-up was 36-42 months after the initial mammographic study. During this time none of the patients underwent biopsy on the basis of mammographic findings, although 20 underwent excisional biopsy because of clinical findings. Breast cancer was diagnosed in two patients and breast lymphoma in one patient. Biopsy specimens from the remaining 17 patients were benign. At mammography, all three malignant lesions had a palpable abnormality associated with the asymmetric tissue. Breast cancer was not found in any of the remaining 201 patients. Therefore, an asymmetric volume of breast tissue, asymmetrically dense breast tissue, or asymmetrically prominent ducts that do not form a mass, do not contain microcalcifications, or do not produce architectural distortion should be viewed with concern only when associated with a palpable asymmetry and are otherwise normal variations.

Does preoperative needle localization lead to an increase in local breast cancer recurrence?

Between 1978 and 1981, 74 women with nonpalpable breast cancer underwent surgery after localization guides were placed. In 72 patients, guides were introduced parallel to the chest wall; in two the needle was positioned anteroposteriorly under computed tomographic guidance. Fifty-six cases (76%) were infiltrating cancer; 13 (17%), intraductal cancers; two (3%), inflammatory; and three (4%), lobular carcinoma in situ. Surgery was not used to treat the latter five patients. In the remaining 69 women, 42 (61%) were treated by means of modified radical mastectomy; six (9%), total mastectomy; 12 (17%), local excision and radiation therapy; and seven (10%), local excision alone; exact therapy for two women (3%) was unknown. At a minimum follow-up of 5 years, none of the 67 women in whom the parallel approach was used had a local recurrence. The authors conclude that preoperative placement of guides parallel to the chest wall does not appear to increase the risk of local breast cancer recurrence.

Is mammography painful? A multicenter patient survey.

Anecdotal reports of pain experienced during mammography have been a source of anxiety and concern for some women considering screening. To determine what asymptomatic women actually experience during mammography, a survey of 1847 women was performed at seven breast-imaging centers. Women recorded their experience on a six-point scale ranging from no discomfort to severe pain. Eighty-eight percent of the women experienced no discomfort (49%) or mild discomfort (39%). Only 9% experienced moderate discomfort; 1%, severe discomfort; and 1%, moderate pain. No woman had pain so severe that it would make her reconsider having a mammogram again. The degree of discomfort was slightly greater in women who complained of breast tenderness within three days prior to the mammogram but was not strongly related to age, menstrual status, or week of the menstrual cycle. We conclude that in a vast majority of women mammography causes no or mild physical discomfort and that actual pain is an uncommon occurrence.

The halo sign and malignant breast lesions.

The halo sign, described as a complete or partial radiolucent ring surrounding the periphery of a breast mass, has long been considered a mammographic sign indicating a benign process. The phenomenon is most frequently seen with cysts and fibroadenomas. Over the past 8 years, 25 malignant breast lesions with a partial or complete halo on mammography have been identified in 19 women. These cases suggest that a halo sign does not guarantee a benign process.

Localization of breast lesions identified on only one mammographic view.

Occasionally, a breast lesion is visible in only one mammographic projection. A simplified method of using parallax in a dedicated mammographic system has been devised to locate accurately lesions that are not visible in two orthogonal projections. In eight patients, a parallax approach from essentially a single mammographic position was used to place a hookwire preoperatively at nonpalpable suspicious abnormalities detected by mammography. Needles were inserted parallel to the chest wall while the breast was compressed in the mammographic unit. In each case, the tissue containing the lesion was pierced by a needle chosen to be longer than the distance from the skin to the abnormality. Simple geometric ratios were used to determine the position of the lesion along the needle shaft after slightly changing the mammographic projection and viewing the needle obliquely. In all cases, this parallax approach permitted accurate localization of the lesion.

Localization of occult breast lesions: practical solutions to problems of triangulation.

The preoperative triangulation and localization of some occult breast lesions can be complicated if the lesion is located deep in the breast. Based on the authors' experience of 1,400 localization procedures, standard breast positions were modified to help locate lesions that were difficult to see in two projections. Standard compression plates were also modified, allowing placement of fenestrations over deep lesions--especially those in the axillary tail of the breast--to facilitate safe, accurate localization.

Mammographic density and physical assessment of the breast.

We studied the relationship between the radiographic density of the breast as measured by parenchymal pattern vs age, breast size, thickness after compression, and compressibility. Two hundred consecutive women were evaluated. None of the three parameters or the patient's age correlated with the degree of radiographic density. Although more older women had lucent parenchyma, 37% of women more than 50 years of age had dense patterns. Thus, these factors cannot be used to predict radiographic density. Phototiming is required to maintain image quality, and only a test exposure can accurately predict breast density.

Postmenopausal endometrial fluid collections: always an indicator of malignancy?

An endometrial collection in a postmenopausal woman is abnormal. Its potential for heralding pelvic malignancy has been emphasized. Although malignancy must always be excluded, the authors' experience with a large outpatient population indicates that benign causes of uterine fluid collections may be more common than previously reported. During a 14-month period eight postmenopausal women with endometrial fluid collections were identified in the outpatient ultrasound department of the Massachusetts General Hospital. Seventy-five per cent of these were secondary to benign processes.