Radiology of Benign Breast Disease

Abstract

Screening mammography has been successful in detecting small and early cancers, resulting in favourable prognoses. At the same time this has also resulted in detection of previously occult benign breast disease. The distinction between benign and malignant lesions is not always simple. Although some mammographically detected lesions such as calcifying fibroadenomas, oil cysts, intra-mammary lymph nodes, vascular calcification and lipomas have pathognomonic features, a relatively large group of soft tissue lesions or calcifications are mammographically indeterminate. In these cases the diagnosis can be confirmed only by needle core biopsy or surgical excision. The outcome of breast cancer can be assessed by applying well-defined criteria such as grade, the presence of vascular invasion and lymph node metastasis. In benign breast disease, there are inconsistencies in assessing the subsequent outcome of most lesions. These factors will be discussed in the following chapters.