MAMMOGRAPHIC SIGNS OF INTRADUCTAL COMPONENT AND MICROINVASION FROM DUCTAL BREAST-CANCER

Intraductal component is a risk factor for local recurrences of ductal carcinomas after breast-conserving therapy. Up to the present, only microcalcifications have been recognised as a mammographic sign of the intraductal component. The authors examined 67 ductal carcinomas; in addition to microcalcifications they paid attention to spiculae at the margin of the tumors. These have been examined histologically and it has been shown that in 91% of the cases the spiculae containe more or less marked intraductal carcinomatous tissue. Even in 23 cases (34.3 %) the spiculae consisted entirely of intraductal components. Microcalcifications in this respect are of less diagnostic importance. In 29 cases there were additional invasive foci which were not evident macroscopically and in four cases intramammary lymphnode metastases were discovered radiologically only. The slice-specimen radiography carried out by the authors provides additional help in evaluating of accurate pathologic margins of ''lumpectomy''.