Correlation of Posterior Echo Patterns and Histopathologic Features in Invasive Ductal Carcinoma of Breast
Jong Ouck Choi, Hyun Cheol Cho, Mi Soo Hwang, Bik Hwan Park, Dong Sug Kim · Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science · 1998
Traditionally posterior shadowing is regarded as a malignant criterion in the evaluation of breast mass by sonogram. But on the basis of our clinical experiences of breast sonogram, we often met a breast mass without posterior shadowing later confirmed breast carcinoma through pathologic examination. For the focus of what character of pathologic breast tissue influence the posterior shadowing in breast sonogram, we analyzed retrospectively the sonographic findings of 26 histologically proven invasive ductal carcinomas. Even though invasive ductal carcinoma is the only one of the many breast cancers, it represents the greater part of breast malignancy. The posterior echo pattern was compared with various histologic characteristics, such as the amount of connective tissue, degree of elastosis, necrosis, gross circumscription, accompanying inflammation, histologic differentiation, and mitotic index. Nine breast masses (35%) demonstrated posterior echo shadowing, while 17 masses (65%) showed enhancement. The tumors with posterior echo shadowing had more abundant connective tissue, increased elastosis, and poorly demarcated margin (p