Breast diseases: color Doppler US in differential diagnosis.

Purpose: To subjectively and semiquantitatively evaluate color Doppler signals on images of breast lesions.
Materials and Methods: A 5-MHz ultrasound (US) system was used to examine 210 new breast lesions. Signals were evaluated subjectively with an analog scale. A semiquantitative scoring system involved analysis of the average number of vessels per square centimeter and average density of color pixels.
Results: Vessels were detected in 57 of 58 cancers (mean, 0.11 vessels per square centimeter, occupying 1.76% of the scan area). Color Doppler scores had no correlation with conventional prognostic indicators such as lymph node status or survival. Fewer vessels per square centimeter (mean, 0.06) occupying a smaller area (mean, 0.41%) were detected in the five fibroadenomas (n = 36) that showed color Doppler signals. Most cases (99 of 104 [96%]) of benign breast changes had no color Doppler signals.
Conclusion: Color Doppler signals in a lesion otherwise thought to be benign should prompt a biopsy, while the absence of signals in an indeterminate lesion is reassuring.