Breast Calcifications

What are Breast Calcifications? 

Should You Worry About Breast Calcifications?

They do not develop into breast cancer. Instead, calcifications are a marker for an underlying process in the breast tissue. 

Most breast calcifications are due to benign conditions, such as: 

• Breast cysts 
• Fat necrosis 
• Fibroadenoma 
• Previous infections in the breast 
• Prior surgery or radiotherapy to the breast 
• Calcium build-up in the blood vessels of the breast

Breast Calcification is not connected to the calcium in your diet.

What Can Breast Calcifications Indicate?

Sometimes breast calcifications can be a marker of underlying cancer development. Calcification may be associated with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) or invasive cancer.

When abnormal cells grow unchecked inside the duct, the cells may get so crowded that some of them die, and the body cannot clear them away. If this happens, those cells can harden and areas of calcium form. When these calcifications appear on a mammogram, they often have suspicious features.

Breast Calcification Assessment?

The radiologist reading your mammogram will classify the calcifications as:

• benign,
• indeterminate (uncertain) or
• suspicious of being cancer-based on their size, shape and pattern.

Types of Breast Calcifications?

Breast calcifications are more likely to be associated with a benign process if they are:

• More significant than 0.5 mm (known as macrocalcifications) 
• Have well-defined edges and fairly standard shapes
• Are not clustered in one area of the breast

Breast calcifications are more likely to be associated with a cancerous process if they are:

• Smaller than 0.5 mm (known as microcalcifications)
• Vary in size and shape
• They grouped in one area of the breast

Action Required After Breast Calcifications are Found?

If the calcifications look benign, no action is required. Calcifications do not need to be removed. They do not increase your risk of breast cancer.

It is essential to continue to be breast aware and see your doctor if you notice any changes in your breasts, regardless of how soon these occur after you were told you had calcifications. 

If the calcifications look indeterminate or suspicious, a biopsy is required. Sometimes a small marker is placed in the biopsy area; this allows for the areas to be found if a further biopsy or surgery is needed. 

If another procedure is not needed, the titanium clip can be safely left in the breast and will not set off alarms at airports.

Excisional Biopsy for Breast Calcifications

Excisional biopsy is a surgical procedure to remove or sample an area of abnormality in the breast. The procedure removes the calcification without a rim of normal tissue. 

An Excisional biopsy is indicated when:

• the abnormal area can not be removed by either a fine needle or a core biopsy,
• prior biopsies have given an inconclusive result and/or
• a biopsy shows atypical changes or cancer