[Color Doppler ultrasound determination of the differential structure of breast tumors].

Eighty-seven women with mammographically suspicious breast lesions were investigated prior to surgery. 32 breast carcinomas and 55 benign lesions were evaluated for the resistance index, the pulsatility index, the flow velocity and the acceleration index. Our study showed the resistance index with a threshold value of 0.70 to be best suited to differentiate benign tumors from malignant ones. In this series, the sensitivity of color Doppler ultrasonography for the detection of breast carcinomas was 84%, and the specificity 80%. The positive predictive value was 71% and the negative predictive value 90%. Color Doppler scanning offers one possible method for further investigation of patients with mammographic abnormalities and can help to reduce the number of unnecessary breast biopsies.