Breast cancer metastases
Metastases from breast cancer can be a frequent finding in routine oncoradiological practice.
Clinical presentation
With the universal use and acceptance of screening mammography, the isolated clinical presentation from metastases from breast carcinoma has become rare in clinical practice. Historically, presentation from metastases was much more common than it is now.
More commonly, the primary breast malignancy is known at the time the metastases are found. The commonly accepted dictum reads that the smaller the breast carcinoma, the less the chances of metastases.
In radiology practice, the most common presentation is an enlarged node in the axilla. Senology may or may not demonstrate a lesion in the ipsilateral breast. FNA of the node then shows metastatic adenocarcinoma cells.
Pathology
Location
Most common sites of metastases:
Less frequent sites of metastases are:
- liver
- brain
- pancreas 3,4
- intramammary (rare)
- uvea 5
- orbit: forming a retrobulbar extraconal mass lesion with desmoblastic reaction resulting in enophthalmos
- pericardium
- soft tissue: rare
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mammography
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mammography views
- craniocaudal view
- mediolateral oblique view
- additional (supplementary) views
- true lateral view
- lateromedial oblique view
- late mediolateral view
- step oblique views
- spot view
- double spot compression view
- magnification view
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- inferomedial superolateral oblique projection
- Eklund technique
- normal breast imaging examples
- digital breast tomosynthesis
- breast ultrasound
- breast ductography
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- malignant lesions
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breast cancer
- breast adenocarcinoma
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- invasive ductal carcinoma
- lobular breast carcinoma
- ductal breast carcinoma
- adenoid cystic carcinoma of the breast
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- gamuts
- breast adenocarcinoma
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breast cancer
- borderline breast disease / high risk breast lesion
- benign lesions
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- breast cyst
- breast hematoma
- breast hamartoma
- breast lipoma
- ductal adenoma of the breast
- epidermal inclusion cysts of the breast
- fat necrosis of the breast
- fibroadenoma
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breast calcifications (approach)
- morphology
- distribution
- location
- lobular calcification within breast tissue
- intraductal calcification within breast tissue
- milk of calcium within a breast cyst
- vascular calcification in breast tissue
- skin (dermal) calcification in / around breast tissue
- suture calcification within breast tissue
- stromal calcification within breast tissue
- artifactual calcification from outside the breast
- suspicious breast calcifications
- infection/inflammation
- vascular lesions
- systemic disease
- gamuts
- classification systems
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