[Diagnostic value of clustered microcalcifications discovered by mammography (apropos of 227 cases with histological verification and without a palpable breast tumor)].

UNLABELLED: Excisions with histological examination were performed in 227 cases of breast microcalcifications without palpable tumor. 99 benign lesions, 27 borderline lesions and 101 carcinomas, 58 of them in situ, were found. Different radiological parameters were studied in relation to histological results: According to the morphology of the calcifications, a classification of 5 types was made. Type 1: annular: 100 per cent were benign lesions. Type 2: regularly punctiform: 22 per cent were malignant lesions. Type 3: too fine for precizing the shape: 40 per cent were malignant lesions. Type 4: irregularly punctiform: 66 per cent were malignant lesions. Type 5: vermicular: 100 per cent of the lesions were malignant. The number of calcifications was higher in carcinomas and 56 per cent of the lesions with more than 30 calcifications were malignant. Close grouping: when there were more than 10 calcifications within a 5 mm diameter area, 57 per cent of malignant lesions were found. Several clusters: 70 per cent were correlated with malignant lesions. Uneven sizes: no signification. LOCATION: the rare retroareolar location correlated with benign lesions in 64 per cent of the cases. Furthermore, the malignant lesions were rare (24%) in women under 40 years of age. For these young women, the authors suggest to directly excise the most suspicious microcalcifications as based on the factors of suspicion and to simply follow the other cases.