microcalcification
{{Short description|Calcium deposits in the breast}}
File:Mammogram microcalcifications in carcinoma in situ, CC, details.png microcalcifications in ductal carcinoma in situ]]
Microcalcifications are tiny deposits of calcium salts that are too small to be felt but can be detected by imaging.{{cite web |title=NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms |url=https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/microcalcification |website=National Cancer Institute |accessdate=23 April 2019 |language=en |date=2 February 2011}}
They can be scattered throughout the mammary gland, or occur in clusters.
Microcalcifications can be an early sign of breast cancer. Based on morphology, it is possible to classify by radiography how likely microcalcifications are to indicate cancer.
In breast
Microcalcifications in the breast are made up of calcium phosphate or calcium oxalate. When consisting of calcium phosphate, they are usually dystrophic calcifications (occurring in degenerated or necrotic tissue).{{cite journal| author=Logullo AF, Prigenzi KCK, Nimir CCBA, Franco AFV, Campos MSDA| title=Breast microcalcifications: Past, present and future (Review). | journal=Mol Clin Oncol | year= 2022 | volume= 16 | issue= 4 | pages= 81 | pmid=35251632 | doi=10.3892/mco.2022.2514 | pmc=8892454 | url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/elink.fcgi?dbfrom=pubmed&tool=sumsearch.org/cite&retmode=ref&cmd=prlinks&id=35251632 }} Yet, the mechanism of their formation is not fully known.{{cite journal |last1=Wilkinson |first1=Louise |last2=Thomas |first2=Val |last3=Sharma |first3=Nisha |title=Microcalcification on mammography: approaches to interpretation and biopsy |journal=The British Journal of Radiology |volume=90 |issue=1069 |pages=20160594 |doi=10.1259/bjr.20160594 |pmid=27648482 |pmc=5605030 |issn=0007-1285|year=2016 }}
Calcium oxalate crystals in the breast may be seen on mammography and are usually benign, but can be associated with lobular carcinoma in situ.{{cite web|url=https://www.pathologyoutlines.com/topic/breastcalcification.html|title=Microcalcifications|author=Hind Warzecha, M.D.|website=Pathology Outlines}} Last author update: 1 June 2010
Microcalcification was first described in 1913 by surgeon Albert Salomon.
File:Histopathology of microcalcifications in non-neoplastic breast.jpg|Calcium phosphate microcalcifications in non-neoplastic breast tissue.
File:Histopathology of dystrophic microcalcifications in ductal carcinoma in situ.jpg|Histopathology of dystrophic calcium phosphate microcalcifications in ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) of the breast, H&E stain.
File:Histopathology of a breast cyst with calcium oxalate crystals, annotated.jpg|Histopathology of calcium oxalate crystals in a benign breast cyst, H&E stain.
In contrast to an artifact of crowded cells, the DCIS calcification pictured above characteristically extends outside the focal plane, as the background DCIS is blurred in this focus.