What does fact checked mean?
At Healthfully, we strive to deliver objective content that is accurate and up-to-date. Our team periodically reviews articles in order to ensure content quality. The sources cited below consist of evidence from peer-reviewed journals, prominent medical organizations, academic associations, and government data.
The information contained on this site is for informational purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for the advice of a professional health care provider. Please check with the appropriate physician regarding health questions and concerns. Although we strive to deliver accurate and up-to-date information, no guarantee to that effect is made.
Clustered Calcifications in the Breast
Calcium formations within the breast are common in all women but more common in postmenopausal women. According to the Mayo Clinic, most calcifications turn out to be harmless, but they can indicate harmful cysts, infection (mastitis) or cancer 1. Small white dots on a mammogram are called microcalcifications. Larger white spots or lines are called macrocaclifications. Radiologists evaluate clusters of calcium deposits for both their distribution patterns and the shapes of the calcifications.
Diffuse or Scattered Clusters
In a 2008 article in "The Radiology Assistant," Dutch radiologists Robin Smithuis and Ruud Pinappel note that calcium formations that are dispersed or scattered throughout or within a region of the breast indicate lobular calcifications because most of the breast is involved in the process that forms these deposits 12. Lobular calcifications form in the milk-producing lobules and most often are benign.
Regional or Segmental Clusters
What Causes Breast Calcification?
Learn More
Clusters scattered among several regions of the breast also usually indicate benign formations. Patterns of white spots on the mammogram that appear in clusters within a single region or segment of a lobe are more problematic for the radiologist to evaluate and are classified as of intermediate concern.
Linear Clusters
A single compact cluster of spots or a pattern that appears in a line within a small area of the breast can indicate a type of cancer called ductal carcinoma in situ, or DCIS.
Popcorn Clusters
Abnormal Mammograms & Calcification
Learn More
The most important factor in determining whether a calcification cluster is benign or malignant is the form the calcium takes, according to radiologists Smithuis and Pinappel. If the spots show as rounded, pointy or popcorn-like structures they most often are benign.
Cloud-like Clusters
If the calcification clusters are formless, or cloud-like, they are considered suspicious or of intermediate concern and may require further tests.
Branching Clusters
Formations that appear in lines or branching lines indicate deposits in the milk ducts or blood vessels. Linear spots in a blood vessel indicate coronary artery disease. A linear formation in the milk ducts is suggestive of DCIS, which represents 25 to 30 percent of all breast cancers. With these linear formations, your doctor will need to do a biopsy to conclusively determine whether it is cancer.
- Formations that appear in lines or branching lines indicate deposits in the milk ducts or blood vessels.
- Linear spots in a blood vessel indicate coronary artery disease.
Related Articles
References
- Mayo Clinic: Breast Calcifications
- Radiological Society of the Netherlands: "The Radiology Assistant"; Breast Calcifications - Differential diagnosis and BIRADS
- American Cancer Society. What does the doctor look for on a mammogram? Updated October 3, 2019.
- Shah N, Chainani V, Delafontaine P, Abdo A, Lafferty J, Abi Rafeh N. Mammographically detectable breast arterial calcification and atherosclerosis. Cardiol Rev. 2014;22(2):69–78. doi:10.1097/CRD.0b013e318295e029
- Nalawade YV. Evaluation of breast calcifications. Indian J Radiol Imaging. 2009;19(4):282–286. doi:10.4103/0971-3026.57208
- Breastcancer.org. Calcifications. Updated November 19, 2018.
- Wilkinson L, Thomas V, Sharma N. Microcalcification on mammography: approaches to interpretation and biopsy. Br J Radiol. 2017;90(1069):20160594. doi:10.1259/bjr.20160594
- O'grady S, Morgan MP. Microcalcifications in breast cancer: From pathophysiology to diagnosis and prognosis. Biochim Biophys Acta Rev Cancer. 2018;1869(2):310-320. doi:10.1016/j.bbcan.2018.04.006
- American Heart Association. Heart attack symptoms in women. Updated July 31, 2015.
Resources
Writer Bio
Michael O’Leary has been covering medical research and health care since 1988. He served as senior science writer at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and as managing editor for the treatment decision tools on the American Cancer Society site. O'Leary is a certified medical writer and has a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Washington.