Calcification in Breast

What Is Calcification in Breast?

Calcification in breast is defined as deposits of calcium that can be seen on a mammogram of the breast. It has two types: macrocalcifications and microcalcifications.

Medical experts describe macrocalcifications as degenerative changes in the breast that are caused by old injuries, inflammations, or aging of the breast arteries and are usually not related to cancer. Moreover, they don’t normally require a biopsy and they’re typically experienced by around 50% of American women who are 50 years old and above and around 10% of women under the age of 50.

Microcalcifications, on the other hand, are specks of calcium that can be found in an area of rapidly dividing cells. Studies reveal that microcalcifications may be an indication of a small cancer if calcification clusters in breast are discovered. Eighty percent of microcalcifications are benign. They can help detect ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). It is vital for you to know that calcifications are not breast cancer. Instead, these are very small bits of calcium that can appear within the soft tissue of your breast and can be seen as white dots on your mammogram.

Calcification in the Breast Tissue

Calcium formations within the breast are common in postmenopausal women. Nonetheless, most calcifications are harmless, but can be an indication of malign cysts, infection (mastitis) or cancer. To better understand this case, breast calcifications are compared to the soil in your garden. Areas of concern develop when the soil concentrates in one area, producing a fertile area for cancer cells to grow.

Vascular Calcification in Breast

Vascular calcifications in the breast are most often seen in post menopausal women with arteriosclerotic heart disease. In younger patients, they are oftentimes associated with diabetes. In your mammogram, a vascular calcification in breast appears as dense, linear, parallel, or tram-track like calcifications.

Cluster Calcification in Breast

Radiologists evaluate clusters of calcium deposits for both their distribution patterns and the shapes of the calcifications. After conducting several researches and investigations, experts presented six sorts of clusters for calcification in breast. These are the following:

Diffuse or scattered clusters – Based on an article entitled “The Radiology Assistant”, Dutch radiologists Robin Smithuis and Ruud Pinappel state that calcium formations that are dispersed or scattered all over or within a region of the breast indicate lobular calcifications since most of the breast is involved in the process that forms these deposits. Lobular calcifications form in the milk-producing lobules and most often are benign.
Regional or segmental clusters – Clusters spread among several regions of the breast also frequently signal benign formations. Patterns of white spots on the mammogram that appear in clusters within a single region or segment of a lobe are more problematic for the radiologist to assess and are categorized as of intermediate concern.
Linear clusters – A single compact cluster of spots or a pattern that appears in a line within a small area of the breast can point a type of cancer known as ductal carcinoma in situ or DCIS.
Popcorn clusters – If the spots look like rounded, pointy or popcorn-like structures, they are most of the time benign.
Cloud-like clusters – If the calcification clusters are formless, or cloud-like, they are classified suspicious or of intermediate concern and may call for further tests.
Branching clusters – Formations that appear in lines or branching lines mark the deposits in the milk ducts or blood vessels. Linear spots in a blood vessel indicate coronary artery disease. Additionally, a linear formation in the milk ducts is an indicator of DCIS, which represents 25 to 30 percent of all breast cancers. In this type, a biopsy will be required by the doctor to thoroughly determine whether or not it’s a cancer.

Malignant Calcification in Breast

Interpreting mammograms is the expertise of radiologists. These skilled professionals encounter calcifications on a daily basis. More often than not, those that they come across are harmless. However, malignant calcification and breast cancer can also be experienced by any woman. About 80 to 90 percent of all breast tissue cancers are first felt by breast self-testing, or accidentally by the person, as a mass or lump in the breast. Around 10 to 20 percent of breast cancer victims have gone through the following symptoms: a history of breast tenderness while forgoing any noticeable masses, breast enlargement, or a thickening in the breast itself.

What Causes Calcification in Breast?

Scores of factors can cause calcification in a woman’s breast. These may include normal aging, inflammation and past trauma to the area. Take into account, though, that calcium from your diet does not cause breast calcifications. Other causes of breast calcifications are breast cysts, cell secretions or debris, Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), fibroadenoma, mammary duct ectasia, mastitis, previous injury to the breast, previous radiation therapy for cancer and skin (dermal) or blood vessel (vascular) calcification.

What Does Calcification in the Breast mean to the Affected?

Almost everyday, women are reminded by doctors, media and other sources to do regular self-breast examinations to look for breast lumps, but very rarely are women told regarding breast calcifications. These calcifications, which can be seen on a mammogram as white spots of various shapes and sizes, can be indicative of increased breast activity in certain cells. They can be macrocalcifications or microcalcifications.

These days, the good news is that the survival rate for beating breast cancer is on the rise. It means that we have better odds at defeating that which frightens everyone – cancer. Physicians used to believe that even benign lumps meant that a woman had an increased risk of developing breast cancer. However, they have corrected such belief now. Some other risk factors need to be considered into the equation as to whether a non-cancerous lump could be a sign, such as the age of a woman and woman’s family history.

Calcification in Breast Biopsy

A 43 year old woman shared her experience and left a question:

“I had an abnormal mammogram approximately 7 months ago. They called me back for diagnostic views which showed calcifications in the right breast. I was told to come back for another mammogram in 6 months. I just had that mammogram done and they called me right away and said I needed to see a breast surgeon. He told me that the calcifications have increased in size and number and that I needed a biopsy. He said he would be removing a ping-pong sized ball of tissue that would be analyzed for cancer. I was in such shock about everything that I didn’t ask enough questions! Is this type of biopsy normal procedure for my condition? How often is this cancerous?”

A doctor’s reply was, “The type of biopsy is usually determined by the breast surgeon. Often an excisional biopsy (removing a sample tissue that will include the calcifications) is chosen because it is most likely to confirm the diagnosis and least likely to miss any tissue that might be concerning.”

Calcification in Breast Treatment

Significant moves can be done in order to successfully treat calcifications in breast. Some doctors will biopsy breast calcifications upon removal to check for cancer staging and to remove suspicious areas. Others may consider the “wait and see” approach.

For related concerns, you may contact Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. It is a charitable, non-profit corporation with a mission to provide the highest quality, compassionate care at an affordable cost through a physician-led team of diverse people working hand in hand in clinical practice, education and research in a unified multi-campus system. It offers 3 out-patient clinics and hospitals in three states, namely: Minnesota (Rochester), Florida (Jacksonville) and Arizona (Scottsdale).

Lots of advertisements on televisions and other forms of media now exist, telling you to quit smoking for your heart. Women and men, who smoke, are at high risk of heart disease. Those who are found to have calcification in breast should see to it that proper medications and treatment are performed in order to reduce the probability of malignancy and the development of breast cancer. Furthermore, a mammogram will ascertain if the calcification in breast will be classified as benign calcifications, benign breast, skin calcifications or the other types, as mentioned in this article.