A preliminary analysis of the ultrasound imaging characteristics of malignant breast masses as compared with x-ray mammographic appearances and the gross and microscopic pathology.

Thirty correctly diagnosed carcinomas were chosen for retrospective analysis of their ultrasound and X-ray imaging characteristics, and correlated with pathologic examination. It was determined that the ultrasound image correlated will with that revealed by radiographic techniques. The posterior attenuation shadow and the jagged wall were the prime indicators of malignancy in this study, occurring in 90 and 87% of the cases, respectively. However, in about 67% of these masses, attenuation shadowing was revealed only by close-interval (1mm) stepwise scanning. A nonhomogeneous internal echo pattern was found in 73% of the cases. Thirteen of the 30 masses showed disturbed architecture away from the overt lesion when imaged by ultrasound techniques. Seventy per cent of these showed histological abnormalities in remote regions. Finally, it was shown that the attenuation shadowing exhibited by malignant breast masses is related to the collagen content of the lesion, expressed as fibrosis.