Practical importance of breast microcalcifications: report on 112 cases.

The authors discuss the results of a diagnostic and therapeutic study of 112 cases of breast microcalcifications with no palpable lesions. The criteria in favor of obtaining a surgical specimen are discussed as a function of population characteristics and a review of the literature. Techniques for the localization of these lesions are defined. Decisions as to the necessity for ulterior treatment of the breast are based on certain criteria, and above all on the risk of evolution of invasive lesions with nodal involvement. The high quality of current mammograms has considerably increased the number of patients referred for biopsy. In the case of microcalcifications masking malignant lesions, the advances made in conservative treatment of breast cancer are not always applicable owing to the risks of failure with such conservative approaches.