Fibroadenoma of the breast: sonomammography correlated with pathology in 122 patients

During the performance of 2,000 sonomammograms, there were 122 patients with 140 biopsy-confirmed fibroadenomas. Mass lesions or abnormalities were detected on the sonomammograms in 100 of these patients (82%) (118/140 masses), and a retrospective review of the descriptive sonographic criteria tabulated at the initial interpretation of 118 of these masses was undertaken. The most significant sonographic mass features were a round (48%) or oval (37%) shape, a smooth contour (75%), weak internal echoes (80%) in a uniform distribution (88%), and intermediate acoustic attenuation (71%). A pathologist reviewed all the cases, tabulating the gross and microscopic appearance of each specimen. In addition, the average fibrous and epithelial tissue content of 103 tumors (100 fibroadenomas and three adenofibromas) was recorded from a review of five low-power microscopic fields of representative areas of the tumor and correlated with the sonographic features. The sonomammographic features of seven calcified fibroadenomas, five giant fibroadenomas, and one fibroadenoma containing in situ lobular carcinoma and a subgroup having both sonomammograms and radiomammograms are discussed.