Not All Suspicious Mammogram Spots Are Cause for Alarm

Imagine going in for a routine mammogram only to get a call that something looks suspicious. The next step is usually a biopsy, which can be stressful, painful and expensive. But what if those suspicious spots turn out to be harmless? A new study from researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, in collaboration with the Mayo Clinic and the University of Texas at Austin, is helping explain why this happens so often and how future screenings could become more accurate.

What Researchers Found

According to the study, tiny calcium deposits in the breast called calcifications can look nearly identical on a mammogram even when one is linked to cancer and the other is not. For decades, doctors assumed these deposits formed the same way, but the researchers discovered they are very different at the microscopic level.

Using 12 advanced imaging techniques, the team analyzed tissue from patients with both benign breast disease and ductal carcinoma in situ, an early form of breast cancer. They found that these calcifications are made of a mineral called amorphous calcium phosphate, or ACP, which has the unusual ability to shift and reorganize its structure.

In benign samples, the deposits formed as neat round nodules with smooth layers. In cancerous samples, they were more irregular and sometimes resembled fossilized wood. These structural differences may help explain why mammograms sometimes flag harmless calcifications as suspicious.

Why This Matters for Patients

According to researchers, most biopsies performed after mammograms that detect calcifications end up showing no cancer. That means thousands of women every year go through unnecessary procedures. By understanding how calcifications form and identifying the unique markers that distinguish benign from cancerous ones, doctors could reduce these false alarms and avoid countless unnecessary biopsies.

This discovery could also lead to better treatment options. Since ACP deposits are more fragile than previously thought, certain medications might dissolve them in the future and potentially prevent misdiagnoses before they happen.

Looking Ahead

The researchers plan to study calcifications in more advanced breast cancers and test whether drugs or lifestyle changes can influence how these deposits form. One tool they are developing, called the GeoBioCell, would allow them to simulate breast conditions and test potential treatments in real time.

The goal is simple but ambitious: make mammograms more precise, reduce anxiety and unnecessary biopsies, and ultimately give patients clearer answers about their breast health.