RADIOLOGY VISIBILITY OF MAMMARY FIBROADEN OMAS

From a clinical point of view, all mammary, fibroadenomas are similar. However some of them are not visible in mammograms, phenomenon probab ly related to glandular density. Aiming to elucidate whether the lack of visibility is caused by the glandular density or by tumor itself, a three stage study was performed. In 201 cases the mammographic visibi lity of fibroadenomas was determined and correlated with patient's age the presence of fibrocystic disease and tumor histological type; afte r surgical excision, 18 fibroadenomas were sliced into 5 mm thick samp les and X rayed to determine their visibility; finally 2 visible and 2 non visible tumors were calcinated at 550 degrees C and their ashes s ubjected to X-ray diffraction analysis. Twenty two percent of fibroade nomas were not visible on mammography, this percentage was higher for intracanalicular tumors, in younger women and in the presence of fbroc ystic disease. Sixteen percent of excised and sliced tumors were for v isible on X rays. Also, differences were found in X-ray diffraction st udies between visible and invisible tumors, probably related to NaCl a nd KCl tremor content.