Detection of diffuse breast cancers with a new sonographic method

The presentation of diffuse cancers detected with a new sonographic method is described. It uses compression of the breast in positions which are used in mammography and a reflecting metallic plate to look for the presence of breast lesions. Changes in reflectivity and velocity are imaged on this reference structure and can be compared with appearance of the reference structure behind normal tissue. Detectability and sonographic appearance are reported in 13 diffuse malignancies and one diffuse benign lesion that had been found among 89 malignant and 83 benign lesions in 151 preoperative patients. Ten breast cancer patients who had been treated with breast-conserving surgery and radiation therapy were also examined sonographically as a model for diffuse changes of the breast parenchyma.