Relationship between mammographic appearance and hormonal receptor content in patients with breast cancer

Mammograms of 97 patients with unilateral breast cancer were divided into five groups, according to whether they showed a spiculated mass (A), a circumscribed mass (B), architectural distortion (C), calcifications without mass (D), or no visible abnormality (E). Thirty-seven of 47 (79%) group A tumors were estrogen receptor (ER) positive, a proportion significantly higher than in groups B (37%), C (23%), or D (31%). Average ER values were significantly higher in group A. Eleven of 30 (37%) tumors with calcifications and 43 of 67 (64%) tumors without calcifications were ER positive. No significant differences among the groups were found for progesterone receptors. Cancers that appear as a spiculated mass and those without calcifications are more likely to ER positive, which suggests that the mammographic appearance may aid in treatment planning