[Ultrasonographic examination of the breast: current use and perspectives (author's transl)]

Ultrasonographic examinations were conducted in one hundred patients with breast tumors (fifty cancers, twenty-five fibro-adenomas, and twenty-five cysts) using a manual apparatus and a 5 megahertz probe. Cysts are easily, diagnosed by ultrasonography if they are larger than 5 mm in diameter, but an equally effective result can be obtained by needle puncture. Results are less valid in fibro-adenomas (3 false positives), but this method is feasible in young women with radio-opaque breasts. Diagnosis by ultrasonography of breast cancers again depends on the size of the tumor (40 p. cent of false negatives in TI cases). The authors presently employ ultrasonography only for the diagnosis of solid, apparently non-malignant tumors, in young women (under 30 years) in whom mammography is ineffective, and for non-palpable radiologically detected opacities. New ultrasonography technics should enable improved results to be obtained when using non-invasive procedures for the diagnosis of breast tumors.