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Sonographic Features of Breast Hamartomas

Division of General Surgery, Department of Surgery, Chang Gung University College of Medicine and Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan.

Address correspondence to Tzu-Chieh Chao, MD, PhD, Department of Surgery, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, 5 Fuhsing St, Kweishan, Taoyuan, Taiwan. E-mail: tcchao{at}adm.cgmh.org.tw

Objective. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the sonographic characteristics of breast hamartomas. Methods. Data and sonographic images of 14 breast hamartomas were retrospectively reviewed. Results. All patients had clinically palpable lumps. The median patient age was 39.5 years (range, 24–60 years). Eleven (78.6%) tumors occurred in the right breast, and 3 (21.4%) were in the left. The median tumor size measured by sonography was 2.8 cm (range, 1.2–4.9 cm). The median longest transverse dimension–anteroposterior diameter ratio of the tumors was 2.44 (range, 1.52–3.73). All tumors were oval and compressible with transducer pressure. Thirteen (92.9%) tumors were well circumscribed with smooth tumor margins, and 1 (7.1%) had indistinct margins. The internal echo texture was hyperechoic in 6 (42.9%), mixed (heterogeneous) echogenicity in 5 (35.7%), and isoechoic in 3 (21.4%). Four (28.6%) tumors had echogenic halos, and 2 (14.3%) had anechoic halos. Ten (71.4%) tumors had no retrotumor acoustic phenomena. Two (14.3%) had bilateral edge shadowing; 1 (7.1%) had posterior enhancement; and 1 (7.1%) had a mixture of enhancement and shadowing. Conclusions. Breast hamartomas were well-circumscribed, solid, oval tumors without intratumor microcalcification. The internal echo texture of most hamartomas is either hyperechoic or composed of mixed echogenicity. Retrotumor acoustic phenomena were absent in most hamartomas.

Key Words: breast • echogenicity • hamartoma