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Breast Cancer (Expert Forum)
Detectable blood flow in a breast mass
Answered by
Cleveland Clinic - Breast cancer
Cleveland - OH
Questions posted in the Breast Cancer Forum are answered by medical professionals from The Cleveland Clinic. Topics include Breast Biopsy, Chemotherapy, Hormone Therapy, Lumps, Lumpectomy, Lymph node dissection, Lymphedema, Mammograms, Mastectomy, Radiation Therapy, Reconstruction, Self Breast Exam, and Surgery.
Detectable blood flow in a breast mass
by marci_s, Aug 23, 2009 12:31PM
Hello. I am a healthy 40 year old woman who had a screening mammo which showed a small density. F/U ultrasound showed a 6mmX3mmX6mm mass that looks like a fibroadenoma. However, it had a blood vessel that coursed directly through it. Based on the size of the "red streak" on the doppler, I estimate the diameter of the vessel to be about 1/2 of a mm. I am scheduled for a core needle biopsy in 2 weeks. My question is this: Does the presence of detectable blood flow increase the chance that this lesion is malignant? My research on the internet gives contradictory information.
Doctor's Answer
by Cleveland Clinic, Aug 24, 2009 12:45PM
, Aug 24, 2009 12:45PM
Dear Marci_s, Increased blood flow may be a more suspicious finding but not necessarily indicative of malignancy there are certain types of benign (non-malignant) tumors that have an increased blood flow as a characteristic feature examples being hemangioma, angiolipoma. Further evaluation - the biopsy will be needed to say for sure what this mass actually is.
