Objective:

To investigate the value of ultrasound in the diagnosis of metaplastic carcinoma of the breast (MBC).

Methods:

The features of two-dimensional ultrasound and color Doppler ultrasound of 26 patients with MBC confirmed by pathology in the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from January 2015 to December 2019 were retrospectively analyzed.

Results:

The majority of MBC occurred in the postmenopausal women. The masses of MBC mostly showed hypoechoic

heterogenous echo

complete edge

irregular shape

parallel to the skin

without calcification or with microcalcification

no change or attenuat

ion of posterior echo

lymph node metastasis

Adler Ⅱ-Ⅲ and resistance index (RI)＞0.7 in ultrasound. Some of the signs were the same as invasive breast carcinoma. Compared with MBC with mesenchymal differentiation

squamous cell carcinoma showed larger diameter

complex cystic and solid echo and no axillary lymph node metastasis.

Conclusion:

MBC is rare and contains multiple pathological subtypes

so it is difficult to be diagnosed as MBC by preoperative ultrasound. But because most of them have common ultrasonographic features of malignant tumor

it can be diagnosed as malignant tumor generally.