Milk of calcium within a breast cyst
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At the time the article was created Yuranga Weerakkody had no recorded disclosures.
View Yuranga Weerakkody's current disclosuresAt the time the article was last revised Yaïr Glick had no recorded disclosures.
View Yaïr Glick's current disclosures- Milk of calcium in breast cyst
- Milk of calcium within breast cysts
- Milk of calcium in breast cysts
Milk of calcium within a breast cyst is a mammographic feature observed when there is dependent calcium layering within breast cysts. It is typically observed as "tea cup" or "crescent shaped" calcifications on a true lateral (LM or ML) view or occasionally on a MLO view. On a CC view, these calcifications can appear smudged due to being viewed en face. The presence of milk of calcium is in a vast majority of cases, a very reassuring feature for benign breast disease.
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Pathology
Entities in which this feature could be observed include:
- fibrocystic changes-cystic hyperplasia of the breast: small crescents
- large simple breast cysts: large crescents
Mammography
- craniocaudal (CC) view: round/smudged microcalcification
- mediolateral oblique (MLO) view: linear
- mediolateral (ML) view: heavier calcium sediments layer in the bases of microcysts-meniscoid appearance
Differential diagnosis
If milk of calcium is superimposed with more pleomorphic microcalcifications (a very rare situation), consider apocrine carcinoma of the breast 1.
References
- 1. Paredes ES. Atlas of mammography. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. (2007) ISBN:0781764335. Read it at Google Books - Find it at Amazon
- 2. Sickles E & Abele J. Milk of Calcium Within Tiny Benign Breast Cysts. Radiology. 1981;141(3):655-8. doi:10.1148/radiology.141.3.7302218 - Pubmed
- 3. Linden S & Sickles E. Sedimented Calcium in Benign Breast Cysts: The Full Spectrum of Mammographic Presentations. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 1989;152(5):967-71. doi:10.2214/ajr.152.5.967 - Pubmed
- 4. Selvi Radhakrishna. Breast Diseases: Imaging and Clinical Management (2014). ISBN: 9788132220763 - Google Books
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