Ultrasound in breast carcinoma: what are we looking at? A sonographic/pathological correlation

This study was undertaken to investigate the relationship between ultrasound-determined tumour size and morphology, and tumour histopathology in 78 patients with breast carcinoma. In 54 cases, the ultrasound and histopathological measurements differed by 3 mm or less. In 15 cases where ultrasound overestimated the size, histological changes around the invasive tumour explained this. In 6 cases where ultrasound underestimated size, lesions were poorly defined and histology was complex, often with multifocal invasive tumour. Ultrasound gives a good assessment of breast cancer size. Careful analysis may explain the discrepancies and allow more accurate information to be communicated to the surgeon.