Tubular carcinoma of the breast. Mammographic appearance and pathological correlation

Xeromammographic and pathological findings in 17 cases of tubular carcinoma of the breast are presented. No patients had axillary lymph node involvement. The mean lesion size was 0.95 cm. Thirteen lesions (76%) were clinically occult. Because of the characteristic histological pattern of infiltrative growth and marked desmoplasia, 81% (13/16) were seen on xeromammography as scirrhous masses, 19% (3/16) only as microcalcifications. None appeared as a well-circumscribed mass or poorly defined density.