Breast calcifications, small calcium deposits within the breast tissue, occur commonly in women, especially after menopause. Calcifications, seen as white spots on a mammogram, are classified as macrocalcifications or microcalcifications. The larger of the two, macrocalcifications, rarely indicate cancer. Microcalcifications, while usually benign, or non-cancerous, may need further testing to rule out cancer. Benign calcifications don’t become cancerous later; malignant calcifications start out as cancers. Calcifications have many causes. There is no link between taking extra calcium and calcification, California Pacific Medical Center states.
Aging
Macrocalcifications, which are always benign and do not require biopsy, often develop as women age, occurring in around 50 percent of women over age 50 and in 10 percent of women under age 50, the American Cancer Society states.
Previous Injury or Inflammation
Previous injury or infection in the breast can cause calcifications. Mastitis, an infection of the breast tissue, and radiation therapy to the breast for cancer can cause calcifications.
Cysts and Lumps
Lumps and cysts in the breast can contain calcifications. Cysts, round or oval fluid-filled soft sacs that commonly occur in women in their 30s and 40s, and fibroadenoma, a benign solid tumor, may develop calcifications. Calcifications may also be found in dilated milk ducts below the nipple, called mammary duct ectasia.
Blood Vessel Calcification
Calcification that occurs in the blood vessels in the breast, called benign arterial calcifications, don’t become cancerous. Calcifications of this type occur more frequently in older women with diabetes and high lipid levels, Catherine Chinyama states in her 2004 book “Benign Breast Diseases: Radiology-Pathology-Risk Assessment.”
References
- MayoClinic.com: Breast Calcifications
- California Pacific Medical Center: Breast Calcifications
- MedlinePlus: Breast Calcifications
- American Cancer Society: Non-Cancerous Breast Conditions
- "Benign Breast Diseases: Radiology-Pathology- Risk Assessment"; Catherine Chinyama; 2004
