Modern medicine is making a lot of efforts to prevent or timely detect various pathologies of the mammary glands. But, despite the abundance of information, there are many topics that remain beyond the interests of a wide audience. Microcalcifications in the mammary gland - what is it and why are they dangerous? What causes this phenomenon and how to deal with them? Let's try to figure it out.
Microcalcifications in the mammary gland - what is it?
Such a phenomenon as microcalcifications, or calcifications (deposits of calcium s alts), is quite common. They appear at the site of dead or irreversibly altered tissues in various human organs. Most often this becomes a consequence of any inflammatory process. Similar formations can be observed in pathological processes in the lungs, kidneys, liver, prostate. The thyroid gland and the heart do not escape the same fate. In this case, both signs of the underlying disease and the absence of any noticeable changes inwell-being. The accumulation of microcalcifications in the mammary gland can signal such a serious disease as breast cancer. Fortunately, the identification of these formations does not at all mean an unconditional verdict - oncology is confirmed only in 30% of cases, and the remaining manifestations are related to benign changes. However, if even a single microcalcification was found in the mammary gland, this is a reason to undergo a serious examination.
Reasons for formation
Provoke the formation of microcalcifications, in addition to oncological pathology of the mammary glands, many processes in a woman's body can. The most common ones are:
- stagnation of milk during lactation and breastfeeding;
- menopause;
- overdose of calcium and vitamin D supplements;
- violations of metabolic processes;
- age-related changes.
However, in addition to physiological reasons, these formations are also present in a number of pathologies of the mammary glands. With sclerosing adenosis, fibrocystic mastopathy, microcalcifications are also found in the mammary gland. What it is? These pathologies are considered benign processes. Most often they are accompanied by pain, aggravated during menstruation. A cyst in the mammary gland can be manifested by pains of a rather intense nature, spreading to the armpit, shoulder or shoulder blade. By touch with these pathologies, you can determineareas of compaction, depending on the form of the disease, having clear boundaries or passing in the form of strands and fine granularity.
Symptomatics of microcalcifications
The danger of microcalcifications in the mammary glands lies in the fact that the process of their growth is completely asymptomatic. If a painful seal in the mammary gland is easy to detect and take action in time, then calcifications, due to their small size, do not manifest themselves. They do not cause pain, discomfort, or fever. They can only be detected by X-ray examination. In the picture, microcalcifications in the mammary gland are visible as blackouts that have a certain shape and localization. It is by these parameters that a mammologist determines the presence of a pathology and diagnoses it.
Classification
As a rule, microcalcifications in the mammary gland by themselves are not the cause of any pathological processes. But their presence often becomes an important diagnostic factor indicating a certain pathology. In order to make it easier to establish an accurate diagnosis, they are usually classified according to several parameters.
According to the localization (location) of calcifications in the mammary gland, they are distinguished:
- stromal:
- lobular:
- ductal.
By the nature of their distribution:
- segmental - calcifications are located in one lobule of the mammary gland;
- regional - congestioncalcifications is located within one lobe;
- linear - s alt deposits are visually arranged in a line;
- grouped - the volume of the cluster does not exceed 2 centimeters;
- diffuse - single calcifications are randomly distributed over the chest.
In addition, calcifications are divided depending on their shape:
- large formations with clear boundaries;
- spot;
- coarse;
- worm-like;
- broken lines with clear boundaries;
- cotton.
Stromal microcalcifications
Calcifications of this localization are the safest in terms of diagnosing oncological pathologies. The walls of blood vessels, fibroadenomas, skin or fatty cysts in the mammary gland become the place of their accumulation. The reason for their formation is most often necrosis of adipose tissue and fibrous formations. As a rule, stromal calcifications are relatively large in size, but do not have clear boundaries. If scattered microcalcifications in the mammary gland are formed in the space of the sebaceous glands, then they have a clear oval or close to rectangular shape. All this makes it easy to identify them during X-ray examination.
Lobular calcifications
Lobular calcifications most often occur as a result of atrophic changes in the glandular tissue. At the same time, they have a rather characteristic appearance - clearlyoutlined rounded formations located within one or more lobes. As a rule, the presence of such deposits almost always indicates the presence of tumor processes. In 80% of cases, especially if the examination reveals a painful induration in the mammary gland, and on one of the radiographic proportions, shapeless spots resemble crescents or bowls, fibrocystic mastopathy can be diagnosed with certainty. However, to exclude oncology, a biopsy is additionally prescribed.
The highest probability of a malignant process may be with heterogeneous cotton-like or powder-like clusters. It is believed that the smaller the calcifications (their size can vary from 50 to 500 microns), the more heterogeneous their shape and the more chaotic the location, the greater the likelihood of detecting oncology.
Ductal calcifications
Ductal calcifications form in the ducts of the mammary glands. If they are formed due to diseases such as mastitis or duct ectasia, they have clear worm-like contours, an interrupted structure and localization that coincides with the duct path. It is also possible to form calcifications in the form of dots or small segments with blurry, indefinite contours. This is highly likely to indicate a malignant process.
Diagnosis
The mammologist is engaged in the diagnosis of this pathology. The problem is that on palpationbreast, it is impossible to detect not only scattered microcalcifications in the mammary gland, but also rather large formations. You can only see them on x-rays. That is why it is so important for women over 40 to have a mammogram at least once a year. This study allows you to detect the appearance of microcalcifications in time, and for an experienced specialist it is not difficult to determine which disease caused their appearance. In some cases, when such formations are detected, in order to exclude breast cancer, an additional biopsy of breast tissue is performed. In addition, a biochemical blood test is mandatory and a hormonal background is examined.
Treatment and prevention
In the event that microcalcifications are found in the mammary gland, the treatment will depend on what caused them. If the histological examination of the collected material confirmed the presence of a malignant tumor, then oncologists will deal with this, and depending on the severity of the process, chemotherapy will be performed or surgical treatment will be prescribed. In the event that the process turned out to be benign, the mammologist can prescribe hormone therapy, breast massage, and a corrective diet.
As for prevention, it largely depends on a woman's ability to take care of her he alth. We all do not live in the most favorable ecological environment, we often eat not the most he althy foods and lead a not the most he althy lifestyle. But it is enough to single out one day a year, to visita mammologist, pass the necessary tests and do a mammogram to know exactly what microcalcifications are in the mammary gland - what it is, whether you have them or not, and what is the reason for their appearance. And if the cause of the appearance of calcifications is serious enough, then timely diagnosis will help to take the necessary measures in the early stages of the disease.
