title: Invasive breast cancer: mammographic measurement.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To establish the accuracy of mammographic measurement of tumor size for invasive carcinoma.
  
  
  METHODS
  For 85 invasive cancers, mammographic tumor size was determined as the largest dimension observed on any mammographic projection (craniocaudal, lateral, or mediolateral oblique). This was then compared with the largest tumor dimension in the gross specimen.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The relationship between the mammographic size and the pathologic size was almost exactly 1:1, with low variability. Mammographic measurements were larger by an average of about 1 mm. Neither breast parenchymal pattern nor the presence of accompanying ductal carcinoma in situ affected accuracy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Mammography can allow tumor size to be measured accurately and can be used as an alternative when pathologic staging is not possible.
authors.affiliation: Breast Imaging Section, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO 63110-1076, USA.
authors.forename: F L
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Flanagan
authors.forename: M B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: McDermott
authors.forename: P T
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Barton
authors.forename: T K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Pilgram
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Dehdashti
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Wick
authors.forename: B S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Monsees
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D002278:Carcinoma in Situ / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D018270:Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008327:Mammography / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008408:Mastectomy; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D012044:Regression Analysis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results