The microcalcifications in the breast - what is it? Causes, diagnosis

Modern medicine has made many efforts for the prevention or timely detection of various pathologies of the mammary glands. But despite the abundance of information, there are many topics that remain outside the interests of a wide audience. The microcalcifications in the breast — what it is and why are they dangerous? What causes this phenomenon and how to deal with them? Try to understand.

The Microcalcifications in the breast — what is it?

The phenomenon of microcrystalline, and calcification (deposits of calcium), quite often. They appear in place of the lost or irreversibly changed tissues in various organs. Most often this is a result of any inflammatory process. Similar formations can be observed in pathological processes in the lungs, kidneys, liver, and prostate. Don't avoid this same fate, the thyroid gland and heart. This may occur as signs of the underlying disease and the absence of any noticeable change in health. A cluster of microcalcifications in the breast could signal such a serious disease as breast cancer. Fortunately, the identification of these entities does not mean unconditional sentence — cancer is confirmed only in 30% of cases, and the remaining symptoms are benign changes. However, if it finds even a single mikrokaltsit in the breast, it is an occasion to undergo a thorough examination.

Causes of formation

To Provoke the formation of microcalcifications, in addition to cancer pathology of the mammary glands, may be many processes in a woman's body. The most common ones are as follows:

• The stagnation of milk during lactation and breastfeeding;

• Menopause.

• Overdose of calcium and vitamin D;

• Metabolic abnormalities;

• Age-related changes.

However, apart from physiological reasons, these formations are present also in a number of pathologies of mammary glands. When sclerosing adenosan, fibrocystic mastopathy also found microcalcifications in the breast. What is it? These pathologies are considered benign processes. Most often, they are accompanied by pain, increasing during menstruation. A cyst in the breast may occur pain is quite intense in nature, extending to the axilla, shoulder or shoulder blade. To touch in these diseases is possible to determine the areas of the seal depending on the form of the disease having clear boundaries or held in the form of strands and fine grit.

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Symptoms of microcalcifications

The Danger of microcalcifications in the breast is that their growth is completely asymptomatic. If painful lump in the breast is easy to detect and to take measures in time, the calcification due to their small size does not manifest itself. They do not cause any pain or discomfort, no fever. To discover them it is possible only when x-ray examination. The picture shows the microcalcifications in the breast are visible as darkening of a certain form and location. For these parameters of the breast defines the presence of pathology and diagnose it.

Classification

Typically, microcalcifications in the breast are not themselves the cause of some pathological processes. But their presence is often an important diagnostic factor indicating a specific pathology. In order to make it easier to establish an accurate diagnosis, they are usually classified according to several parameters.

Localization (location) of calcification in the breast vydelyayut:

• Stromalnye:

• Tolkovye:

• Protocole.

By the nature of their distribution:

• Segmental — calcification located in one lobe of the breast;

• Regional — the concentration of calcification within one lobe;

• Line — salt deposits is visually positioned in a line;

• Grouped — the volume concentrations less than 2 centimeters;

• Diffuse — an isolated calcification randomly distributed on the chest.

In addition, the calcification are subdivided depending on their form:

• A large formation with a clear granicami;

• Tochechnye;

• Krupnooptovye;

• Cerveobraznae;

• Ruptured with clear boundaries;

• Cotton-wool.

Stromal microcalcifications

The Calcification of this localization is most safe from the point of view of diagnostics of oncological pathologies. They become clusters of blood vessels, fibroadenoma, skin or fatty cyst in the breast. The reason for their formation is most often the necrosis of fat tissue and fibrous formations. Generally, stromal calcification are relatively large in size, but do not have clear boundaries. If scattered microcalcifications in the breast are formed in the space of the sebaceous glands, they have a clear oval or almost rectangular shape. All this makes it easy to identify them during x-ray examination.

Lobular calcification

Calcification lobular localization most often caused by atrophic changes in the glandular tissue. They have a pretty distinctive look — clearly defined rounded education, located within one or more shares. As a rule, the presence of these sediments almost always indicates the presence of neoplastic processes. In 80% of cases, especially if the inspection revealed a painful lump in the breast, and on one of the proportions of x-rays formless blobs reminiscent of crescents or bowls, one can confidently diagnose fibrocystic breast disease. However, exceptions Oncology additionally prescribe a biopsy.

Most likely a malignant process may be heterogeneous with cotton-like or resembling dust accumulations. It is believed that the smaller calcification (their size may vary from 50 to 500 µm), neodnorodnoe their shape and chaotic arrangement, the greater the probability to detect cancer.

Ductal calcification

Ductal calcifications are formed in the ducts of the mammary glands. If they are formed as a result of diseases such as mastitis or duct ectasia, they have a clear worm-like contours, perivious structure and localization, coincident with the path of the duct. Also, the formation of calcification, having the form of dots or small line segments with blurred, vague outlines. This high probability may indicate a malignant process.

Diagnostics

Diagnosis of this pathology is engaged in the doctor-mammolog. The problem is that palpation of the breast is not possible to identify not only diffuse microcalcifications in the breast, but large enough education. They can be seen only on x-ray. That is why it is so important for women over 40 at least once a year to do a mammogram. This study allows to detect the appearance of the microcalcifications, and for a skilled specialist is not difficult to determine which disease was the cause of their appearances. In some cases, upon detection of such entities in order to rule out cancer of the breast, optionally, a biopsy of breast tissue. In addition, an obligatorily biochemical analysis of blood and examined hormones.

Treatment and prevention

In that case, if the detected microcalcifications in the breast, the treatment will depend on what was the cause of their appearance. If histological examination of the retrieved material confirmed the presence of a malignant tumor, then it will engage oncologists, and depending on the severity of the process will be assigned to chemotherapy or surgical treatment. In that case, if the process turned out to be benign, the breast may assign hormone therapy, breast massage, corrective diet.

As for prevention, it largely depends on the ability of women to take care of their health. We all live not in the most favorable ecological situation, often eat not the most healthy foods and are not the most healthy lifestyle. But is it enough to allocate one day of the year to visit mammologist, pass the necessary tests and to do a mammogram, to know exactly the microcalcifications in the breast — what it is, they have you or not, and what is the reason for their appearance. And if the cause of the calcification is quite serious, timely diagnosis will help to take the necessary measures in the early stages of the disease.