Benign breast clustered microcalcifications

Case contributed by Mellanie Deborah

Presentation

Patient shows up for yearly check up. Past mammography showed no pathological signs.

Patient Data

Age: 40 years
Gender: Female

Bilateral mammogram

mammography

Mammogram shows heterogeneously dense breast tissue in both breasts. Normal lymph nodes in right axilla.

In the upper outer quadrant of the right breast (anterior third), there's evidence of small clustered microcalcifications.

Magnification view of right breast

mammography

Further images were performed in the upper outer quadrant of the right breast, Magnification view (mammography) allowed the visualization of the clustered microcalcifications with more detail. They don't show suspicious morphology, and they have a radiolucent center, characteristic of skin calcifications.

The study was considered as BIRADS 2.

Case Discussion

Sometimes skin calcifications may mimic suspicious clustered calcifications, so further images like tangential view may be useful to confirm they are indeed in the skin, and not inside the breast parenchyma. In this case, magnification views were enough to discard any suspicious finding.

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