Hyperechoic Lesions of the Breast: Not Always Benign

Hyperechoic Lesions of the Breast: Not Always Benign
Anna Linda, Chiara Zuiani, Michele Lorenzon, Alessandro Furlan, Rossano Girometti, Viviana Londero, and Massimo Bazzocchi
AJR 2011; 196:1219-1224

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Of all biopsied lesions, 25 (0.6%) were hyperechoic. Among the 1849 malignant lesions, nine (0.4%) were hyperechoic. The remaining 16 were benign. None of the hyperechoic malignancies was a "purely" sonographic lesion, because all were palpable, mammographically visible, or detectable on breast MRI. Malignant lesions were more likely than benign lesions to have noncircumscribed margins (9/9 vs 7/16; p = 0.008) and nonparallel orientation (6/9 vs 1/16; p = 0.003).

When encountering a hyperechoic nodule, malignant nature cannot be excluded. Suspicious sonographic signs and correlation with other imaging techniques may help avoid misdiagnosis.