Comparison of mammography and ultrasonography findings with pathology results in patients with breast cancer in Birjand, Iran

BACKGROUND: Early diagnosis of breast cancer, the incidence of which among Iranian women is about a decade earlier than in developed countries, is important. OBJECTIVE: To compare mammography and ultrasonography findings with those of pathology in patients with breast cancer. METHODS: This descriptive cross-sectional study was performed using medical records of 79 patients with breast malignancies, who were referred to Imam Reza Hospital and private laboratories of Birjand, Iran, from December 2012 to December 2014. The patients’ information was recorded using a checklist, which included name, code, age, ultrasonography, and mammography results and pathology reports. The results of ultrasonography and mammography were compared with pathology findings as the gold standard. SPSS Version 21 was used for data analysis. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 46.94 ± 11.76 years. The results showed that 74.7%, 16.5%, and 7.6% of the patients had ductal carcinoma, lobular carcinoma, and mixed carcinoma, respectively. About 72.5%, 24.6%, and 2.9% of the patients had stage 2, 3, and 1 breast cancer, respectively. In addition, both breasts were involved in 1.3% of the patients. The ultrasound findings were positive and false negative in 97.5% and 2.5% of the cases. Moreover, the mammography results were positive and false negative in 98.7% and 1.3% of the patients. CONCLUSION: This study showed that mammography is the preferred modality in screening breast cancer patients; the use of complementary tests such as ultrasonography is recommended, especially in high-risk women.