A 43 year old female underwent screening mammography. Which of the following features on mammogram would suggest malignancy in this patient?
High-Yield Explanation
Specific mammographic features that suggest a diagnosis of breast cancer include a solid mass with or without stellate features, asymmetric thickening of breast tissues, and clustered microcalcifications. The presence of fine, stippled calcium in and around a suspicious lesion is suggestive of breast cancer and occurs in as many as 50% of nonpalpable cancers. These microcalcifications are an especially impoant sign of cancer in younger women, in whom it may be the only mammographic abnormality. Ref: Hunt K.K., Newman L.A., Copeland E.M., Bland K.I. (2010). Chapter 17. The Breast. In F.C. Brunicardi, D.K. Andersen, T.R. Billiar, D.L. Dunn, J.G. Hunter, J.B. Matthews, R.E. Pollock (Eds), Schwaz's Principles of Surgery, 9e.