Mammographic examination

Due to the improvement of living standards and the frequent occurrence of breast diseases in women, more and more women have realized the importance of breast health and pay more and more attention to regular breast examination and maintenance. Among them, breast molybdenum target examination is very popular among female friends because of its many advantages. Breast molybdenum target examination can effectively detect the breast condition of women. The following article will explain to you the operating principles of breast molybdenum target examination.

What is a Mammography System?

Mammography, full name mammography, also known as molybdenum palladium examination, is currently the first choice for diagnosing breast diseases. It is a low-dose breast X-ray technology for photographing the breast. It can clearly display the various layers of breast tissue, detect breast hyperplasia, various benign and malignant tumors, and breast tissue structural disorders. It can observe tiny calcification points and calcification clusters smaller than 0.1 mm. It is the most effective and reliable way to detect and diagnose breast cancer early, especially for early breast cancer that is clinically impossible and has tiny calcification clusters as the only manifestation. It has characteristic diagnostic significance.

Features of Mammography System

A. Advantages:

1. The mammary gland mammography system has the characteristics of clear imaging, convenient and quick examination operation, low radiation, relatively less pain, high resolution and good repeatability. The instrument can accurately detect the shape, size, density and nature of breast hyperplasia, lesions, masses and calcifications, and is a non-invasive detection method. The images captured can be used for before-and-after comparison and are not restricted by age or body shape. They are currently used as a routine examination. It can accurately judge and identify calcification points in breast lesions that cannot be identified by color ultrasound and is known as the "gold standard" for international breast disease examination.

2. It can detect breast lumps that doctors cannot feel, especially for large breasts and fatty breasts. Its diagnostic accuracy can be as high as 95%. For T0 breast cancer (clinical palpation negative) with a few tiny calcifications as the only manifestation, it can only be discovered and diagnosed early through soft X-ray examination. The diagnostic sensitivity of breast cancer is 82% to 89%, and the specificity is 87% to 94%.

B. Disadvantages:

It is non-dynamic, the positioning cannot be very accurate, and it is not suitable for women under 40 years old. Young women have high breast density, and the resolution of molybdenum target is not high. Molybdenum target is an X-ray examination, and young women are sensitive to it and may even develop cancer. Therefore, traditional ultrasound examination should be given priority.

Mammographic findings of mammography

Breast hyperplasia (breast dysplasia) varies depending on the location and degree of breast hyperplasia. Its X-ray manifestations can be nodular, flake-like, structural disorder, increased density, etc. It can also be shown as small spherical dense masses, large flakes, tumor-like, cord-like, and a combination of multiple imaging manifestations. However, in clinical practice, in addition to these typical signs, or when these signs are in different menstrual cycles, their X-ray manifestations may also be different. Therefore, it is of great significance to study the various mammographic signs of breast hyperplasia and their relationship with clinical manifestations.

Common abnormalities in mammography examination

1. Calcification

The calcification conditions on the molybdenum target image include: flake calcification, cluster calcification, fine point micro calcification, etc. Computer-aided detection of microcalcifications in mammographic X-ray images has become a research hotspot for early diagnosis of breast cancer. This is mainly because small, granular, clustered microcalcifications are an important early manifestation of breast cancer. Foreign statistics show that 30% to 50% of breast malignant tumors are accompanied by microcalcification.

2. Tumor

Space-occupying lesions that can be seen at two different projection positions, among which the edge sign is the most important for judging the nature of the mass, which can be manifested as clear edges, blurred edges, invasive growth, or radial line shadows emanating from the edge of the mass. Compared with the surrounding breast tissue, most breast lumps have high or equal density, and very few may show low density.

3. Structural distortion

It refers to distortion of normal structures without a clear mass visible, including radiating shadows and focal constriction from a single point, or distortion at the edge of the parenchyma.

The value of mammography

1. It can be used as a relatively non-invasive examination method, which can comprehensively and accurately reflect the gross anatomical structure of the entire breast;

2. X-ray examination can be used to observe the effects of various physiological factors (such as menstrual cycle, pregnancy, lactation, menstruation and endocrine changes, etc.) on breast structure, and dynamic observation can be performed;

3. It can reliably distinguish benign breast lesions from malignant tumors;

4. X-ray examinations can reveal certain precancerous lesions, and follow-up radiographs can be performed;

5. Conduct follow-up examinations on the pathological changes of breast cancer patients after radiotherapy and chemotherapy, observe the therapeutic effects, and conduct regular monitoring of the healthy breast.