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Updated: Dec 13, 2025

Ultrasonographic Evaluation of Breast Cancer-related Lymphedema
Published on: January 12, 2017
Features of breast tuberculosis determined by ultrasound imaging: report of 45 cases
Wenzhi Zhang1, Ying Zhang1, Gaoyi Yang1
1Department of Ultrasonography, Chinese and Western Hospital of Zhejiang Province (Hangzhou Red Cross Hospital), Hangzhou, Zhejiang, P.R. China.
Objective:
This study aimed to characterize the ultrasound (US) imaging features of breast tuberculosis (BTB) to clarify the process of disease progression and provide valuable clinical information.
Methods:
We retrospectively reviewed 45 patients with pathologically or GeneXpert-confirmed BTB from January 2010 to December 2017. We assessed the US features of target lesions including size, shape, orientation, margin, echogenicity, calcification, posterior acoustic features, and blood-flow signal.
Results:
The patients were classified with nodular (55.5%, 25/45), abscess (15.6%, 7/45), or sinus (28.9%, 13/45) type according to their US features. Forty lesions (88.9%, 40/45) extended in a parallel orientation and five extended in a non-parallel orientation. Calcifications were found in eight cases, including six macrocalcifications and two microcalcifications. Enlarged axillary lymph nodes were observed in three cases (6.7%, 3/45). In addition, 44 of the 45 cases (97.8%, 44/45) exhibited hypovascularity or avascularity according to color Doppler flow imaging (CDFI).
Conclusion:
BTB lesions can be classified as nodular, abscess, or sinus type according to their US imaging features. Poor blood supply detected by CDFI might be a common US feature of BTB. Characterization of its US features may facilitate the clinical diagnosis of BTB.
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