Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer death among females worldwide . Breast cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death overall , after lung cancer . Ultrasound imaging is a common means of detecting breast cancer . American women have a 21.3 % chance of being diagnosed with breast cancer in their lives . This means that one in eight women in the United States is at risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer .

Sonography student scanning a breast phantom

The most essential component for the treatment and prognosis of breast cancer is early diagnosis . Ultrasound imaging ’ s main goals involving breast cancer are early detection and the accurate assessment of lesions . It can also be used to guide biopsies .

An Ultrasound assesses the morphology , orientation , internal structure and margins of lesions in high resolution . The linear transducer ( a type of scanning tool a sonographer uses to look in the body ) is used during a breast ultrasound because it uses higher frequency sound waves , which are standard for shallow or superficial structures . Factors sonographers need to consider while scanning for breast cancer are the surrounding tissue , shape , margin contour , lesion boundary and posterior acoustic features .

Diagnostic

Medical Sonography

LESION MALIGNANT TUMORS BENIGN TUMORS Shape Irregular Oval , Round

Orientation Vertical , taller than wide , indifferent

Parallel , wider than tall

Geneity Homogeneous Heterogeneous

Calcification Microcalcification Absent

Retraction phenomena

Present Absent