Paulina Neira MD, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

Bernardita Aguirre, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

Dulia Ortega, Presenter: Nothing to Disclose

Jorge Rodriguez, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

Leonor Moyano, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

To correlate the mammographic features of suspicious microcalcifications with the histological result and their ability to predict malignancy and its histological grade.

A prospective correlation was performed of 64 consecutive patients with suspicious microcalcifications who underwent a surgical biopsy between January 2001 and October 2002. Four patients had bilateral calcifications which were studied separatedly. Two independant breast imaging radiologists classified microcalcifications in 3 categories, according to the degree of mammographic suspicion: low suspicion (amorphous), intermediate suspicion (pleomorphic), high suspicion (fine linear and branching). Unlike BIRADS classification, we divided category 4 in two subgroups.

Sixty-eight histological diagnosis of surgical specimens were obtained. Thirty-five cases were classified in the low suspicion category (51,4%). Of these, 24 (68,6%) resulted benign lesions, 6 (17,1%) resulted high risk lesions and 5 (14,3%) resulted malignant. Most of malignant lesions had low histological grade (80%), the remainder intermediate grade. Twenty-eight (41,1%) cases were classified in the intermediate group of suspicion. Of these, 16 (57,1%) were benign lesions and 12 (42,9%) were malignant. The histological grade was low in 25 %, intermediate in 41,7%, high grade in 25% y one case of linfangitis carcinomatosis (8,3 %) in this subgroup. Five cases (7,3%) were classified in the high suspicious subgroup. All of them resulted malignant and their histological grade was moderate or high.

There is a significant difference in the positive predictive value y risk for malignancy of the low suspicious category compared to the intermediate suspicious category. All the cases included in the highly suspicious category were malignant. As the degree of suspicion of microcalcifications increased, the nuclear grade also increased.

J.R.: bioestadísticoL.M.: Pathologist P.N.,B.A.,D.O.: Read mammographics and classified microcalcificationsP.N.: Staff in charge of this project. She designed the work

Neira, P, Aguirre, B, Ortega, D, Rodriguez, J, Moyano, L, Mammographic Classification of the Suspicious Microcalcifications and Its Hystologic Correlation.  Radiological Society of North America 2004 Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting, November 28 - December 3, 2004 ,Chicago IL. http://archive.rsna.org/2004/4411337.html