1Department of Radiology, Kyungpook National University Hospital, Korea. 2Department of Radiology, Kyungpook National University Medical Center, Korea. mamrad@knu.ac.kr 3Department of Pathology, Kyungpook National University Medical Center, Korea. 4Department of Surgery, Kyungpook National University Medical Center, Korea.
Published online: September 30, 2013.
ABSTRACT
Dystrophic calcifications themselves in the breast are classified as typically benign according to the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System. However, we experienced a patient with invasive ductal carcinoma surrounding large dystrophic calcifications that could be regarded as long-standing benign conditions such as fat necrosis or hematoma. A 61-year-old woman presented with two large dystrophic calcifications within an irregular mass in the right upper outer breast on mammography. Ultrasonography revealed an irregular mass with dense calcifications showing strong posterior acoustic shadowing. On contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging, an irregular mass showed a persistent enhancement pattern and high signal intensity on a diffusion weighted image with non-enhancing areas corresponding to the calcifications. No abnormal uptake was observed on Tc-99m methylene diphosphonate bone scan. Invasive ductal carcinoma was observed on ultrasonography-guided core needle biopsy. In this case, we conclude that typical dystrophic calcifications within a breast mass cannot guarantee a benign diagnosis if the imaging characteristics of the mass are suspicious.
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