DIAGNOSTIC VALUE OF SONOGRAPHY IN DIFFERENTIATING OF MALIGNANT AND BENIGN BREAST MASSES

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers among women throughout the world. The present study was performed to determine the diagnostic value of sonography for identifying the benign or malignant breast tumors in Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (Breast Clinic of Mo'tazedi Hospital) during the year 2008. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This descriptive study was carried out on 73 female patients having presumed clinical mass. They were examined by gynecologists, and then the benignity or malignancy of masses was determined using Sonography. For pathological tests, the biopsy was performed and the samples were sent to the Pathological Lab. The studied variables included age, marital status, the number of children, breast-feeding, mass location, and the reports of pathology and sonography. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients and the number of their children were 41 and 3, respectively. In addition, 79.5% of patients were married, and 75.3% of them had a history of breast-feeding. Sonography diagnosed 68.5% of the masses, as being benign, while pathological tests rate was 63%. CONCLUSION: Based on the results, because of sensitivity and characteristic of sonography, the first step to diagnose malignant masses should be sonography and, only then, if necessary, the application of other methods is recommended. To confirm the accuracy of the findings of this research, carrying out further studies with more samples is suggested.