Stromal fibrosis of the breast.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this retrospective study was to describe the imaging features of stromal fibrosis of the breast and to determine the false-negative rate (number of cancers missed) at percutaneous biopsy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between January 1997 and October 1999, 1095 imaging-guided core biopsies were performed. Patients were included in our study if stromal fibrosis was the predominant histologic finding. Cores adjacent to previous excisional biopsies or from calcified lesions were excluded. RESULTS: Stromal fibrosis was diagnosed in 74 (6.8%) of 1095 imaging-guided core needle biopsies in 73 patients. The 10 mammographic lesions were variable in appearance. Most of the sonographic lesions were indeterminate, with 16 (25%) of 64 showing suspicious features. Discordant imaging resulted in three patients having a second core biopsy and nine patients having an excisional biopsy. The two false-negative findings were the result of an infiltrating lobular carcinoma and an infiltrating ductal carcinoma, the latter diagnosis delayed for 6 months. CONCLUSION: The low incidence (2.7%) of missed cancers in our series suggests that patients diagnosed at core biopsy as having stromal fibrosis can be treated conservatively with a short-term follow-up protocol. However, it would be prudent to continue to recommend either a second core biopsy or an excisional biopsy for imaging features that cannot be reliably differentiated from malignancy.

Comparison of breast magnetic resonance imaging, mammography, and ultrasound for surveillance of women at high risk for hereditary breast cancer.

PURPOSE: Recommended surveillance for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers includes regular mammography and clinical breast examination, although the effectiveness of these screening techniques in mutation carriers has not been established. The purpose of the present study was to compare breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with ultrasound, mammography, and physical examination in women at high risk for hereditary breast cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 196 women, aged 26 to 59 years, with proven BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations or strong family histories of breast or ovarian cancer underwent mammography, ultrasound, MRI, and clinical breast examination on a single day. A biopsy was performed when any of the four investigations was judged to be suspicious for malignancy. RESULTS: Six invasive breast cancers and one noninvasive breast cancer were detected among the 196 high-risk women. Five of the invasive cancers occurred in mutation carriers, and the sixth occurred in a woman with a previous history of breast cancer. The prevalence of invasive or noninvasive breast cancer in the 96 mutation carriers was 6.2%. All six invasive cancers were detected by MRI, all were 1.0 cm or less in diameter, and all were node-negative. In contrast, only three invasive cancers were detected by ultrasound, two by mammography, and two by physical examination. The addition of MRI to the more commonly available triad of mammography, ultrasound, and breast examination identified two additional invasive breast cancers that would otherwise have been missed. CONCLUSION: Breast MRI may be superior to mammography and ultrasound for the screening of women at high risk for hereditary breast cancer.

Breast imaging. A look at current and future technologies.

Mammography remains the most practical and reliable procedure for routine breast cancer screening. It also plays an important role, along with physical examination, in evaluation of symptoms of breast disease. Among the complementary imaging techniques, breast ultrasound is the most valuable. It helps differentiate cysts from solid lesions and assists in intervention. When used in combination, clinical breast examination and mammography and, if appropriate, ultrasound, offer the best opportunity for the evaluation of the breast in symptomatic and asymptomatic women.

Gestational breast cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To study the problems of breast imaging in gestational breast cancer. PATIENTS AND METHOD: Retrospective review of the charts of 19 patients with breast cancer detected during pregnancy or lactation or within 1 year of delivery, who were referred to a tertiary centre for adjuvant therapy between 1986 and 1996. For 10 patients who underwent breast imaging, mammograms and breast ultrasonograms or reports were requested from outside facilities. RESULTS: The patients ranged in age from 23 to 41 years (mean 31 years). All 19 patients presented with palpable tumours; in 7 patients, the tumours were stage T2 or higher; in 11 patients, the tumours were at an advanced stage with positive axillary nodes. In 11 of the patients there was a delay in diagnosis, which ranged from 2 to 16 months. Of the 8 mammograms that could be reviewed, 5 showed infiltrating ductal carcinomas with typical features, which were detected as a mass (in 1 case), a mass with microcalcifications (in 1 case), microcalcifications (in 2 cases) and asymmetry (in 1 case). Three mammograms were negative, including 1 obtained from a patient with extensive comedocarcinoma. Breast ultrasonograms obtained from 4 patients (2 of whom also had mammograms) showed solid hypoechoic masses; in 2 of the ultrasonograms, the masses simulated a benign lesion. CONCLUSIONS: Although breast cancer during pregnancy and lactation is rare, this study suggests that radiologists should include it in the differential diagnosis of a solid breast mass seen during pregnancy or lactation. Clinicians appear to be reluctant to use breast imaging in these patients; however, this can lead to a delay in diagnosis. Ultrasonography is the modality of choice for initial analysis of such a mass in this age group. Mammography with shielding of the abdomen is recommended if there is suspicion of cancer. Clinical, mammographic and sonographic findings should be integrated for optimum interpretation.

Squamous cell carcinoma of the breast.

OBJECTIVE: To review the mammographic and ultrasonographic features of primary breast cancer containing squamous cell carcinoma. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From medical records for breast cancer patients seen over a 37-year period the authors identified 19 patients with squamous cell carcinoma, for 5 of whom histologic sections and imaging studies were available. The tumours were classified on the basis of histologic findings as pure (in two patients) or predominantly (in three patients) squamous cell carcinoma. Mammograms were available for four of the patients, and the mammographic report only was available for analysis for the fifth. Ultrasonography had been performed for four of the patients; the images were available for two of the patients and the reports only for two. RESULTS: The median age of the patients was 55 years. The mean size of the tumours, all of which were palpable, was 5.0 cm. None of the tumours was connected to the skin, arose in the nipple-areolar complex or was metastatic. On mammography, the margins of all five masses, which were oval in shape, were indistinct and partly well-circumscribed; in three cases, the tumour margin was also partly spiculated. No malignant microcalcifications were seen. The two "pure" squamous cell carcinoma tumours appeared on ultrasonography as solid hypoechoic masses, and two of the predominantly squamous cell carcinoma tumours had both cystic and solid components. At gross pathological examination, four of the tumours (two "pure" and two predominantly squamous cell carcinoma) were cystic, which reflected areas of necrosis and cyst formation. CONCLUSION: Although "pure" or predominantly squamous cell carcinoma is a rare histologic variant of breast cancer that lacks any typical mammographic features, this tumour can be added to the differential diagnosis of cystic breast masses seen on ultrasonography.

Mediastinal large-cell lymphoma.

The records of 20 patients with pathologically diagnosed mediastinal large-cell lymphoma with sclerosis, a recently documented but uncommon subtype of mediastinal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, were retrospectively reviewed to determine the clinical and radiologic features of the condition at the time of presentation. The disease was staged according to the Ann Arbor classification: 15 patients presented in clinical stage I or II and 5 in clinical stage III or IV. The patients, 6 women and 14 men, ranged in age from 15 to 63 years (mean = 31 years). Chest pain (experienced by 10 patients), dyspnea (by 9) and cough (by 7) were the most common clinical features. Obstruction of the superior vena cava occurred in seven patients. The mediastinal masses were large (the mean diameter was 10.8 cm) and located anteriorly (prevascularly). They contained low-attenuation areas and were often associated with other sites of mediastinal adenopathy. The initial pathologic diagnosis was incorrect for eight patients (40%). Mediastinal large-cell lymphoma can be added to the differential diagnosis of a large anterior mediastinal mass with obstruction of the superior vena cava.

Mammography: Unravelling the mystery.

The combination of mammography and clinical examination provides the best means available to detect breast cancer. This article attempts to familiarize the family physician with mammographic terms and to clarify the role of mammography in detecting breast cancer.

Mediastinal Castleman's disease: demonstration with computed tomography and angiography.

The authors report a case of Castleman's disease in the mediastinum that was discovered in a young woman receiving high-dose steroids for oral pemphigus vulgaris. Computed tomography demonstrated that the mass was calcified and was markedly enhanced after intravenous injection of contrast material, a manifestation of the hyaline-vascular histologic variant. Arteriography proved invaluable in planning the surgical approach to this highly vascular mass. Because Castleman's disease is rare most radiologists are not familiar with the radiographic features and are unaware that profuse hemorrhage may complicate biopsy and surgery.

The radiology of blunt chest trauma.

Chest injuries and related complications prove fatal in over half of the victims of multiple trauma. The radiologist's responsibility is twofold: a) to recognize key radiographic signs and b) to guide the clinician in the radiologic investigation and management of the patient. The important diagnoses to be recognized from radiographs are pneumothorax, aortic rupture, bronchial rupture and diaphragmatic rupture.