Mammographic Findings in Breast Cancer Patients, Who were Treated with Breast Conserving Therapy
Saipin Tangkaratt MD*
Affiliation : * Division Radiation Therapy, National Cancer Institute
Purpose : To evaluate the mammographic findings and role of detection of local recurrence in breast cancer
patients, who underwent breast conserving surgery and radiation therapy.
Design : Descriptive retrospective study
Material and Methold From 1988 to 1998, 78 women with early breast cancer (stage I, II) were treated with
lumpectomy and axillary nodes resection, followed by radiation treatment. Mammographic imagings were
taken yearly after complete treatment. Needle biopsy was done for suspected local recurrence on mammo-
graphic findings.
Results : Duration of follow-up ranged from 3 years to 10 years. Seventy-three of 78 patients (93.6%) had
evidence of parenchymal changes on serial annual mammography. Twenty-eight of 73 patients (38.4%) had
diffuse dense parenchymal changes.Twenty-four of 73 patients (32.9%) had focal fibrotic changes, and 21 of
73 patients (28.8%) had evidence of parenchymal distortion with a mass like lesion. Skin thickening was
found in 54 of 78 patients (69.2%). Calcification was the least change, found in only 2 of 78 patients (2.6%).
Nine of 78 patients (11.5%) had mammographic signs of local recurrence. Seven of 9 patients had suspected
local recurrence by needle biopsy. Four of seven patients had proven local recurrence on mastectomy, and 3
of 7 patients (42.8%) had false positive on mastectomy.
Conclusion : Annual mammography in post breast conserving treatment showed beneficial results for detec-
tion of recurrent cancer.
Keywords : Mammography, CA breast
