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Atlas of breast cancer early detection

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Case number:160
Age:56
Clinical presentation:Postmenopausal woman with average risk of developing breast cancer presented with bilateral mastalgia.


Mammography:


Breast composition:ACR category a (the breasts are almost entirely fatty)
Mammography features:

 ‣ Location of the lesion:None
 ‣ Mass:
   • Number:0
   • Size:None
   • Shape:None
   • Margins:None
   • Density:None
 ‣ Calcifications:
   • Typically benign:None
   • Suspicious:None
   • Distribution:None
 ‣ Architectural distortion:None
 ‣ Asymmetry:None
 ‣ Intramammary node:None
 ‣ Skin lesion:None
 ‣ Solitary dilated duct:None
 ‣ Associated features:None

BI-RADS:

BI-RADS Category: 1 (negative)

Case summary:

Postmenopausal woman presented with bilateral mastalgia. Diagnosed as BI-RADS 1 on imaging.

Learning points:


  • Mastalgia is defined as pain or discomfort in one breast or both, and is usually experienced in the upper outer quadrant. The cause of mastalgia could be located in the breast tissue or it may be extramammary (e.g. Tietze syndrome [costochondritis]). It may be psychological. Breast pain creates anxiety about underlying breast cancer and may affect quality of life. The main goal of clinical examination and breast imaging in women with mastalgia is to exclude the diagnosis of cancer.

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