Breast Pathology (Module 2 Unit 4A) Flashcards
What are the most common cause of breast lumps in women 35-50 years of age?
Cysts
What is commonly found in the fibrocystic change (FCC)?
Cysts
What is the most common benign diffuse breast condition?
Fibrocystic Change
What are the 4 key features of FCC?
Hyperplasia, adenosis, stromal fibrosis, and cyst formation
In FCC, describe the appearance of nodular adenosis and sclerosing adenosis.
nodular adenosis - mass like
sclerosing adenosis - difficult to differentiate from cancer (presense of calcs, lobulation, irregular)
Describe an acorn cyst.
Non dependent echogenic layer, shows movement of fat layer to differentiate from other pathologies)
What is PAM?
Abnormal change/growth of cells, associated with fibrocystic change, echogenic echoes (crescent layer, NON-MOBILE)
What is the most common benign mass in lactating patients?
Galactocele
What type of cyst can a Galactocele become?
Lipid (oil) cyst
If you move a patient around who has a galactocele, what will it look like sonographically?
Fluid-fat levels with change with pt position, internal echoes (milk-laden contents) or completely anechoic
What are sebaceous cysts and epidermal inclusion cysts?
Benign masses from skill layers, results from obstructed sebaceous (oil-producing) glands or hair follicles, in a superficial location
What type of cyst contains sebum or keratin?
Sebaceous cyst/epidermal inclusion cyst
What type of cyst contains sebum, is superficial, and shows as a darkening of the pore of the obstructed gland?
Sebaceous cyst
What is mastitis? When is it common?
Inflammation of the breast and is most common during pregnancy and lactation
A patient comes in with a swollen breast, painful to the touch boob, nipple discharge, and their breast is hard – what might be the diagnosis?
Mastitis
What is the most common place for a breast abscess?
Subareolar
What is Mondor disease?
Acute thrombophlebitis of the superficial veins of the breast or chest wall.
What are the sonographic appearances of Mondor disease?
- Dilated tubular vein with internal echoes from clot
- Incomplete compressibility
- Absent blood flow or partial absence of flow
How can hematomas happen in the breast?
Result of trauma/injury and subsequent vessel damage
What is a seroma?
Collection of serous fluid
What is the sonographic appearance of a seroma?
- fluid collection (anechoic or low level echoes/septations)
- obvious posterior enhancement
- typically confirms to surgical cavity
- absence of internal vascularity on doppler
What is fat necrosis?
Inflammatory, ischemic process due to the breast trauma (injury, radiotherapy, surgery, inflammation)
What are the risk factors for fat necrosis?
Obesity (large fatty breasts) , surgical excisions follow by radiation, diabetes (spontaneous fat necrosis)
Why is the clinical history important for fat necrosis?
Signs and symptoms mimic cancer - palpable area, skin thickening, dimpling, nipple retraction
What is sonographic appearance of fat necrosis?
Variable; can evolve to a solid, suspicious appearing lesion due to fibrosis and granuloma formation (fibrotic fat necrosis - spiculated/irregular, hypoechoic shadowing mass)
What are the sonographic findings for a post surgical scar?
- hypoechoic area with acoustic shadowing
- skin thickening or retraction is common
- transducer pressure can flatten out the scar and reduce shadowing
- diminish with time on serial scans
What are benign characteristics for a breast mass? (4)
- hyperechogenicity
- wider than tall
- multilobulated
- thin, echogenic capsule
What are the malignant characteristics for a breast mass? (7)
- spiculation
- taller than wide
- angular margins
- markedly hypoechoic
- shadowing
- calcifications
- duct extensions
What is the best modality to examine nipple discharge?
Galactography
What is considered ‘low risk’ for nipple discharge? (3)
- bilateral
- multiple duct orifices
- milky/greenish
What is considered an ‘increased risk’ for nipple discharge? (5)
- unilateral
- spontaneous
- single duct orifice
- clear, serous, or slight to frank blood
- associated with skin or nipple changes
Name 6 benign solid breast masses.
- fibroadenoma
- adenoma/secretory adenoma
- phyllodes tumour
- hamartoma
- lipoma
- intraductal papilloma/intracystic papilloma, and pappilomatosis
What is the most common benign SOLID tumour?
Fibroadenoma
What is an estrogen-induced tumour that is slow-growing, and more commonly solitary?
Fibroadenoma
What is the sonographic appearance of a fibroadenoma?
- oval (wider than tall)
- thin echogenic capsule
- isoechoic or hypo compared to fat
- solid
- may calcify over time and show macrocalcs
What is more common: adenomas or fibroadenomas?
Fibroadenomas
What type of adenomas are present during pregnancy or the lactation period due to elevated hormones?
Secretory adenomas
What is the sonographic appearance of an adenoma?
- oval, circumscribed, parallel-orientated (wider than tall)
- internal areas of increased echogenicity
- increased vascularity on doppler