Calcinosis

Calcinations in the mammary gland (or micro-calcifications) are salt formations in the breast tissue that cannot always be identified by palpation. By themselves, they do not pose a threat to the health of women, but still require careful testing and diagnosis. This is due to the fact that such formations can be a signal of the development of serious diseases, including cancer.

Why do calcinates form in the chest?

If during the medical examination it turned out that these uninvited guests had settled in her chest, then any woman would first of all ask herself a logical question: “Calcinations in the mammary gland - what is it and where did they come from?”.

Calcinates are the replacement of altered or dead cells with calcium salts due to the process of inflammation, calcification. Such micro-assessments, as a rule, do not cause discomfort in a woman in the form of fever or chest pains. Therefore, it is impossible to discover them on your own - only as a result of regular examinations by a breast doctor. If they are ignored, then the existence of such entities can not even be suspected. Meanwhile, calcinates can be a signal warning of cyst development, mastitis, metabolic disorders and other problems.

Salt deposits are formed due to:

• excessive content of vitamin D3 in the body;
• systematic stagnation of milk during lactation;
• metabolic problems;
• changes associated with menopause.

These reasons provoke the formation of benign calcifications, which do not cause any discomfort. However, they can become malignant, and this is their main danger. Unfortunately, there is no methodology for preventing the transformation of benign calcifications into malignant calcifications. But sometimes the quality of micro-evaluations is determined by their location. They can be in the lobes, ducts and stroma.

In lobes of the glands micro-formations are formed against the background of involutive changes in the mammary gland, that is, when the adipose tissue grows against the background of exhaustion (aging) of the breast skin. Typically, such metamorphosis is characteristic of women aged 35-40 years. The causes of lobular calcifications are:

• adenosis;
• cyst;
• fibrocystic mastopathy.

In the case of mastopathy, an X-ray photograph will show microzines in the shape of a bowl, the edges of which in the side view resemble a crescent.

In ducts causes of calcification can be:

• plasma cell mastitis (an X-ray will show the wormlike, dotted form of calcifications);
• non-invasive or intraductal breast cancer (many small point calcifications resembling snake skin).

In the first case, the calcifications are more dense. In the second, an accurate diagnosis can only be made on the basis of a biopsy.

In stroma, that is, in vessel walls, calcification develops due to:

• fibroadenomas;
• cysts of adipose tissue or blood vessels.

In stroma, calcinates are usually shapeless and large, up to 1 cm.

Treatment of calcifications in the mammary gland

Treatment of calcifications in the mammary gland is prescribed after determining the nature of microbloods - benign or malignant. Benign deposits, as already mentioned, are not dangerous and need gentle therapy. It:

• diet (it is recommended to eat more foods with fiber, eat less salt);
• massage;
• hormonal drugs.

Complete disposal of calcifications is impossible, you can only suspend their education during rationally carried out therapy. If it turned out that micro-evaluations are not benign, then therapy consists in directly treating the disease that provoked their appearance in the mammary gland. In any case, surgical removal of salt deposits is prescribed only if calcinates of any nature reach very large sizes.

How to prevent the development of pathology?

The mammary gland in women is prone to the frequent development of latent diseases. In addition, there are a number of problems that are not detected by palpation, and calcification is a vivid example. Therefore, it is important to regularly take preventive measures aimed at identifying and clarifying the nature of calcifications (as well as other problems):

• annual mammography allows you to identify pathology at an early stage of development;
• a regular biochemical blood test shows the amount of calcium salts in the body (if calcinates are formed in the tissues of other organs, this can be very painful);
• analysis of the hormonal background of a woman by studying the serum of venous blood;
• biopsy at risk of developing calcinates (that is, if salt deposits are present in other organs).

See also:

• Breast swelling: for what reasons?
• Symptoms of breast cancer. The causes of the disease
• Mastitis: symptoms and treatment. Causes of mastitis and their prevention
• Breast fibroadenoma: remove or not

Calcium in the breast itself is not a dangerous disease. But they show that women need to pay special attention to breast health. With the benign nature of calcifications, this is often enough; the main role is to play prevention and gentle therapy. However, one can never ignore the fact that in certain situations, deposits of calcium salts can signal cancer and can be reborn.