Analysis of the manifestation frequency of different variants of calcifications in the mammary glands in women of mature and old age according to screening mammography data

The relevance of the problem of early diagnosis of pathological changes in the mammary glands (MG) of women of different ages is due to the fact that in the world rankings of neoplasms localization, both benign and malignant, the MG occupies a leading position today. According to multiple information sources, more than 80% of women of reproductive age are diagnosed with various MG diseases. For the purpose of early detection of pathological changes developing in MG today, mammography is widely used, which allows easy visualization of calcifications, MG and obtaining their complete characteristics.The purpose of our study was to determine the frequency of detection and to study the age-related dynamics of different types of calcifications in the mammary glands of mature and elderly women according to the mammography results.Material and methods. In the course of the research, a randomized sample of archival anonymized mammograms of 100 women (50 mature and 50 elderly) who underwent screening or preventive examination was processed. Examinations were performed on the Fujifilm Amulet Innovality device (Japan) in direct (SS) and medial-lateral oblique (MLO) projections. Calcifications were assessed by shape, number, and size.Research results. It was determined that in a randomized sample of examined women, only 34% of adults and 28% of elderly people did not have calcifications in the mammary glands. In 24% of adults and 48% of elderly people, calcifications were detected in the mammary glands bilaterally, in another 42% of adults and 24% of elderly people - in only one of the the mammary glands. Among women of mature age, the largest specific share in the examined sample belongs to persons without calcifications in the mammary glands; among the elderly, the largest share is women with calcifications in both mammary glands. According to the results of the conducted research in a randomized sample of mature and elderly women, the following was found: isolated scattered punctate calcifications (35% of the examined); single punctate/round calcifications (23% of the examined); annular calcifications (11% of the examined); multiple calcifications (19% of the examined); calcifications larger than 1 mm (14% of the examined); calcified vessels (4% of the examined).Conclusions. Digital mammography is a highly informative method of examining the mammary glands, which allows us to visualize calcifications and differentiate them by size, shape and number. According to the results of the analysis of a randomized examination sample of 100 mature and elderly women, various variants of calcifications were found as single, diffuse, punctate; single punctate/round; annular; multiple; greater than 1 mm; as well as calcified vessels. With age, the frequency of mammary gland calcifications increases.