Fibrocystic changes (FCCs) are the most frequent benign lesions that occur in the breast of premenopausal women between 20 and 50 years of age. Pathogenesis of FCCs is related to the response of the breast tissue to fluctuations of estrogen and progesterone levels during menstrual cycle. Clinically, FCCs are present in more than 50% of women without breast disease, usually in the form of cyclic, multifocal and bilateral breast pain or tender nodularities [1]. Histologically, FCCs are observed in up to 90% of women, as...

Between March 2009 and December 2011 at the Dept. of Diagnostic Imaging, Institute of Oncology and Radiology of Serbia (IORS), Belgrade, Serbia the breast MRI examination was performed prior to biopsy in 53 patients with FCC, with the 1.5-T system (Avanto, Siemens, Erlangen, Germany), the standard bilateral breast coil, and with the standardized breast MRI protocol. In women with a palpable breast lesion, core-needle biopsies were performed. In women with a nonpalpable lesion, second-look breast ultrasound and radioguided occult lesion localization (ROLL) were done prior...

DCE-MRI demonstrated 53 unilateral lesions of the following type: - Nonmasslike enhancement (NMLE) in 38 patients (71.7%), (Fig. 1 - 8); - Nonenhancing asymmetric tissue in eight patients (15.1%); - Masses in six patients (11.3%); - Focus in one (1.9%) patient; without the difference between the three categories of FCCs (p=0.47) (Table 1). The features of NMLE lesions in 38 patients are shown in Table 2. The majority of NMLE lesions were larger than 1 cm (94.7%), and were most often described as a focal...

The main goals of breast MRI are: to distinguish FCCs from breast cancer and to differentiate nonproliferative lesions from other two categories of FCCs, at risk of developing breast cancer. In our study, DCE-MRI findings were unrelated to subtle histological differences of FCCs categories, while DWI added valuable data for differentiation of FCCs from breast cancer, especially in the cases of nonenhancing FCCs lesions.

[1] Love SM, Gelman RS, Silen W. Fibrocystic “disease” of the breast – a nondisease? N Engl J Med 1982; 307: 1010–1014. [2] Guray M, Sahin AA. Benign Breast Diseases: Classification, Diagnosis, and Management. The Oncologist 2006; 11: 435–449. [3] Milošević Z, Jovanović T. Fibrocistična bolest dojke. In: Goldner B, Milošević Z, Jovanović T (Eds.) Mamografija u dijagnostici oboljenja dojke. Beograd: Velarta, 2001; pp 109-128. [4] Chen JH, Liu H, Baek HM, Nalcioglu O, Su MY. MR Imaging Features of Fibrocystic Change of the Breast...

Corresponding author: Mirjan M. Nadrljanski, MD, M.Sc. Dept. of Diagnostic Imaging Institute of Oncology and Radiology of Serbia (IORS) Belgrade / RS [email protected] Zorica C. Milosevic, MD, PhD, Professor of Radiology Dept. of Radiology Faculty of Medicine University of Belgrade Belgrade / RS Dept. of Diagnostic Imaging Institute of Oncology and Radiology of Serbia (IORS) Belgrade / RS [email protected]