Mammographic-pathologic correlation: Part 2. Malignant breast lesions

The primary goal of the radiologist in interpreting mammograms is to detect abnormalities that are suggestive of malignancy. Unfortunately, great deal of overlap exists between the imaging patterns produced by benign and malignant breast lesions, creating the possibility of both false-positive and false-negative results. In the first part of this series, we discussed the mammographic appearance of a number of common benign entities along with several lesions that are most easily confused with carcinoma. In this article, we present the relevant clinical, imaging, and pathologic features of malignant diseases of the breast. We will focus our discussion on primary adenocarcinomas of the breast. Neoplasms arising from tissues other than breast epithelium (e.g., sarcomas, lymphomas), metastatic disease to the breast, and phyllodes tumors will not be included.

Duke Scholars

Author Rex Colle Bentley Pathology