Breast Calcifications

Types of Breast Calcifications

Breast calcifications usually don’t cause any symptoms and are too small to be felt during a breast exam or self-exam. Most women find out they have them through a routine mammogram. There are two main categories of breast calcifications:

Macrocalcifications: Appearing on the mammogram as large white dots or dashes, macrocalcifications are almost always non-cancerous.

Microcalcifications: These calcifications are smaller and appear on a mammogram as fine white specks. While usually benign, certain patterns of microcalcifications can be an early sign of breast cancer.

While the exact cause of breast calcifications is unknown, there are several possible explanations. They are often associated with other issues such as:

• Breast injuries
• Breast cysts
• Breast infections
• Calcium buildup in the blood vessels of the breast
• Non-cancerous breast growths, such as fibroadenomas
• Past radiation therapy to the breast
• Previous breast surgery

There is no connection between the calcium in your diet and the development of breast calcification.

Diagnosis and Treatment

If breast calcifications are determined to be macrocalcifications, further testing and follow-up is usually not needed. The vast majority of these calcifications are benign and will not require treatment.

However, if the size, shape and distribution of the calcifications appears suspicious, as in microcalcifications, a follow-up mammogram may be necessary. Your provider may also order a biopsy to rule out cancer. If further testing shows the calcifications to be non-cancerous, your doctor may recommend that you either return to your regular mammogram schedule or have an earlier follow-up mammogram to observe any potential changes in the calcification.