Color Doppler signals from breast tumors. Work in progress.

The color Doppler signals in 60 patients with breast masses were assessed subjectively, and a regional grading method was developed for quantitation of displayed blood vessel density. Among 21 patients with breast carcinoma, moderate or high flow was demonstrated in all but one, with an average of 0.5 vessels per square centimeter and color pixels occupying 12.2% of the image area. Among 33 patients with benign disorders, no flow was demonstrated in 25 and slight to moderate flow was seen in five, with an average of 0.01 vessels per square centimeter, occupying 0.8% of the image area. Cancers as small as 10 mm in diameter were positive for flow. High-velocity flow was seen only in malignancies; it was observed in four cases and may have been due to arteriovenous shunting. Flow was less readily detected in recurrent tumors; two of seven tumors were weakly positive. Color Doppler shows promise as an adjunct to ultrasound imaging in the differential diagnosis of breast lesions.