Milk of calcium within a breast cyst
Last revised by Yaïr Glick on 20 Mar 2022
Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data
Citation:
Weerakkody Y, Glick Y, McNaughton T, et al. Milk of calcium within a breast cyst. Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 16 Apr 2024) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-15605
rID:
15605
Article created:
29 Oct 2011,
Yuranga Weerakkody ◉
Disclosures:
At the time the article was created Yuranga Weerakkody had no recorded disclosures.
View Yuranga Weerakkody's current disclosures
Last revised:
20 Mar 2022,
Yaïr Glick ◉
Disclosures:
At the time the article was last revised Yaïr Glick had no recorded disclosures.
View Yaïr Glick's current disclosures
Revisions:
7 times, by
6 contributors -
see full revision history and disclosures
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Synonyms:
- 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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