title: MR imaging of medullary carcinoma of the breast.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of medullary carcinoma of the breast and to correlate them with histopathologic features.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eight patients were retrospectively evaluated with pathologically confirmed medullary carcinoma of the breast. T1-weighted fat-saturated, T2-weighted fast spine echo, and gadolinium-enhanced fat-saturated fast spoiled gradient-echo images were obtained. Interpretation of the MRI findings was based on evaluation of the configuration, internal signal intensity, contrast enhancement, and type of the time-intensity curve.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Medullary carcinoma showed a lobular shape and a smooth margin, either homogenous or heterogeneous enhancement and delayed peripheral enhancement in the late phase on contrast-enhanced MRI, and either a plateau or washout type with rapid initial rise on the time-intensity curve of the dynamic study.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although the MRI findings showed a close relationship with histopathologic features of medullary carcinoma, it was difficult to differentiate medullary carcinoma from other histologic types of invasive breast carcinomas.
authors: Department of Radiology, Tohoku Rohsai Hospital, 21-3-4 Dainohara Aoba-ku, Sendai 981-8563, Japan. jrtomi@jf6.so-net.ne.jp
authors: Junya
authors: J
authors: Tominaga
authors: Hikaru
authors: H
authors: Hama
authors: Noriko
authors: N
authors: Kimura
authors: Shoki
authors: S
authors: Takahashi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D018276:Carcinoma, Medullary / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity