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Updated: Jul 18, 2026
Tracking the Mammary Architectural Features and Detecting Breast Cancer with Magnetic Resonance Diffusion Tensor Imaging
Published on: December 15, 2014
The mammographic appearance of breast carcinomas of invasive ductal type: relationship with clinicopathological
Concepcion Ildefonso1, Julio Vazquez, Oscar Guinea
1Servicio de Cirugía General, Hospital del Oriente de Astirias, Arriondas, Spain.
Objectives:
To evaluate the clinical significance of the mammographic appearance of tumors in 411 patients with infiltrating ductal carcinoma of the breast.
Study Design:
Tumors were classified into five radiographic subgroups: spiculated mass (A-type), diffuse changes with or without suspicious microcalcifications (B-type), microcalcifications with a mass (C-type), circumscribed (D-type), and not visible (E-type). Intratumoral levels of estrogen (ER) and progesterone (PR) receptors, c-erbB-2, EGFR, pS2, cathepsin D and tPA, ploidy and S-phase fraction, were analysed in a significant number of cases.
Results:
A-type A radiographic pattern was detected in 234 patients (57%), B-type in 46 (11%), C-type in 46 (11%), D-type in 68 (17%), and E-type in 17 patients (4%). On the other hand, a total of 155 tumors (37.8%) showed microcalcifications. The percentage of tumors showing A-type pattern was more frequent in postmenopausal women, in well-differentiated tumors, and in those showing higher levels of ER, pS2 of tPA. However, B-type pattern was detected in a high percentage of premenopausal women and in those showing larger tumors, positive nodes, poor differentiation or high S-phase fraction. Cox multivariate analysis showed that B-type pattern and the absence of microcalcifications were factors significantly associated to high risk for relapse.
Conclusions:
Our results suggest that the mammographic appearance of tumor may to provide useful clinical information in addition to classical prognostic factor in infiltrating ductal carcinoma of the breast.
