Mammographic prognostic indicators in small tumours
A study of 343 women with preoperative mammography showing small invasive tumours were classified according to the following radiographic features:
- spiculated tumour with no calcification
- oval tumour with no calcifications
- any tumour with non-casting-type calcifications
- any tumour with casting-type calcifications
Follow up showed that mortality in patients with small invasive breast tumours which showed casting-type calcifications was much higher than for other groups:
- the 14% of women with tumours 1-9 mm diameter and casting-type calcification accounted for 74% of cancer deaths
- the long-term survival of patients with tumours 1-9 mm diameter and no casting-type calcification was 95%
The conclusion is that small tumours with casting-type calcification should be considered as larger tumours when planning treatment of the cancer.
Reference
- Tabar, L. et al. (2000). A novel method for prediction of long-term outcome of women with T1a, T1b and 10-14 mm invasive breast cancer: a prospective study. Lancet, 355, 429-33.
Create an account to add page annotations
Annotations allow you to add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation. E.g. a website or number. This information will always show when you visit this page.