Mammography and GYN imaging Flashcards
(43 cards)
Dense breat tissue categories

Mammogram anatomy

Mammogram views

Breast cancer screening recommendations
- They vary for general population:
- Most conservative: Start at age 40, image anually
- USPSTF: Start at age 50, image every two years
-
For patients at high risk:
- Start imaging at age 30 with mammogram and breast MRI
BIRADS

When is BIRADS 0 appropriate?
When a screening mammogram (not diagnostic) finds something of uncertain signfiicance
Diagnostic vs screening mammograms
Screening mammograms show only two views of each breast (CC and MLO)
Diagnostic mammograms have multiple views from different angles and better magnification, enabling much better characterization of a lesion. An ultrasound is often additionally indicated following a diagnostic mammogram, and is performed at the same appointment.
Indications for a diagnostic mammogram
- Callback from a screening mammogram (BIRADS 0)
- Palpable mass on exam
- Patients with short interval followup for abnormal mammograms (BIRADS 3)
- Patients with known breast cancer who require further pretreatment or preoperative workup (BIRADS 6)
Utility of dopplar ultrasound in workup of a breast mass
Can tell you if it is cystic (no flow) or solid (bloodflow)
For biopsy-confirmed breast cancer with clinically suspected stage 1 disease . . .
. . . no further imaging is required before surgery (at least for staging purposes)
Indicatons for breast MRI
- High risk screening
- Intermediate risk screening
- New diagnosis of breast cancer – to evaluate for contralateral malignancy not detected on mammography (note, requires contrast)
- Evaluating for breast implant rupture (does not require contrast)
Does MRI ever replace mammography for screening?
NO
It only ever is used in conjunction with mammography
Some low-grade conditions, like DCIS, are more easily identifiable on mammography than MRI
Handling of axillary lymph nodes
The sentinel lymph node will typically be biopsied for breast cancer surgery.
If positive, the patient will return for an axillary lymph node dissection.
When should a patient with a history of thoracic radiation begin mammography screening?
10 years following radiation
Often contrast MRIs are also indicated for these cases
The classic example is radiotherapy for childhood or young adulthood Hodgkin’s lymphoma
When should a patient with family history of breast cancer begin mammography screening?
If their family member was diagnosed before age 50, 10 years prior to their age of diagnosis
Otherwise, standard screening schedule
What is the only situation in which you don’t use contrast on a breast MRI?
If you are evaluating for ruptured breast implants
BRCA1 and BRCA2

Current recommendations regarding screening for ovarian cancer
Nothing has been shown to be effective! This includes clinical exam, transvaginal ultrasound, and CA-125.
There is no good evidence, even for high-risk groups like Lynch syndrome patients, however sometimes these patients are screened anyway.
What is the normal endometrial thickness in a postmenopausal patient?
< 5 mm if not on hormone therapy
< 8 mm if on hormone therapy
You detect endometrial thickening suspicious for endometrial cancer on ultrasound. What are the next steps?
Either straight to biopsy, or sonohysterogram first if you want to be confident there is no polyp or other structure you may miss with a biopsy alone.
Endometrial hyperplasia on sonohysterogram

Retained products of conception on ultrasound
There will be vascular flow
This is a key finding

Once you have your diagnosis from biopsying endometrial cancer, what is the next step?
Pelvic MRI with and without contrast to stage the cancer
Also, CXR to look for pulmonary metastases.
This will determine whether the patients gets TLH-BSO, or chemo/rad.
1 and #2 most common breast masses in a woman under age 30
1: Fibroadenoma



