Benign or malignant?: differentiating breast lesions with computed tomography attenuation values on dynamic computed tomography mammography.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate enhancement effects of breast lesions with dynamic computed tomography (CT) and to determine characteristics to aid in differential diagnosis of benign and malignant lesions.


METHODS
One hundred seventy-six women underwent preoperative dynamic CT, in which they were scanned with rapid injection of contrast media (3 mL/s) after 30 seconds and 2 minutes (early and delayed phases, respectively). The CT values and enhancement patterns of malignant lesions (n = 154) were compared with those of benign lesions (n = 22), and the cut point of CT values with the best validity was analyzed.


RESULTS
The CT values of malignant lesions were higher than those of benign lesions in both phases (P < 0.0001). The cut point was determined to be 60 Hounsfield units (HU) in the early phase (44% validity, 90% sensitivity). Washout and plateau patterns were more commonly seen in the malignant group (73% specificity).


CONCLUSIONS
The analysis of enhancement effects on CT may lead to more appropriate differentiation of benign and malignant lesions.
Miyake
Kanae
K
Department of Radiology, Kyoto City Hospital, Kyoto, Japan. kanae3@sea.plala.or.jp
Hayakawa
Katsumi
K
Nishino
Mizuki
M
Nakamura
Yoshiaki
Y
Morimoto
Taisuke
T
Urata
Yoji
Y
Ueda
Hiroyuki
H
Tanikake
Masato
M
Kanao
Shotaro
S
Shiozaki
Toshiki
T
Yamamoto
Akira
A
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000145:classification* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003287:Contrast Media / Q000008:administration & dosage; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007479:Iopamidol; D008327:Mammography / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011856:Radiographic Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*
D003287:Contrast Media; D007479:Iopamidol