Radiographic Diagnosis of Non-Palpable Breast Lesions

Eighty-seven mammary biopsies with radiographic signs of malignancy (microcalcifications or tissue condensation) without a corresponding clinical mass were examined by specimen radiography to determine the mammary lesion microscopically and find the exact location of the possibly malignant-associated microcalcifications. Fourteen malignant lesions (16.1%) were found, and atypical intraductal proliferations in an additional 14 biopsies. The calcifications were mostly located in the atypical epithelium. In 9 cases, however, the calcifications were located at a distance from the atypical epithelium. An open guided biopsy Is therefore considered to be mandatory in these cases.